Immortality
by bluejay
Summary: A simple kidnapping case turns out to be much more, and Harry finds himself needing help from more than the Bats. Sequel to 'Revenge' and 'Behind the Facade'.
1. Dick

Disclaimer: DC folks belong to DC. Dresden folks belong to Jim Butcher. The random victims are mine.

Notes: Sequel to "Revenge" and "Behind the Façade" because a plot bunny bit me while I was writing "Revenge". Only reason why it took me so long to post this is because I had a hard time writing this. I hope you enjoy reading my fic though :)

Replies to final reviews in Revenge:

DarthZ: Happy to have entertained you :) I'm really glad I'm not the only one who finds my humor funny lol. (I'm not gonna disclose how many zeroes are in there though :P)

TwiceMarked: I was obsessed with Dresden Files, then I re-discovered my love for Dick Grayson. The crossover was bound to happen ;)

Tiger Lily Roar and Soului: Sorry this took so long, but I hope you'll like this one too :)

Xakko: Yep, Harry and Oracle is a very bad team-up. So bad, expect explosions and no work being done ^^

Cassandra Chalice and Mogg: Haha much thanks. I'm glad to know that my humor is liked :)

VM Mercenary: Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of action in this sequel. Really had a hard time writing this. And even if you're not a writer, your criticism really brought out the weaknesses and plus points in my previous fic. I'll be very happy to receive any future constructive crits from you to help me improve :D

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><p>I was in the middle of my daily workout when the call came in. It was coming from my JL communicator, meaning it could have been any of the dozens of capes I'd met during the last crisis, but I knew there was only one who'd actually bother calling me. Well, alright make that two - can't forget about my honorary uncle, can I? But chances are, it was the one person who regularly scares almost the entire League.<p>

For half a second, I was tempted to ignore it; I wasn't his sidekick anymore, I didn't have to drop everything whenever he asks. But I also knew the caller wouldn't call unless it was important, which means I'll have to get a move on. So I gave up today's workout as a lost cause, made a final flip over the high bar and landed on the mat with a puff of resin.

"Nightwing." He said when I acknowledged the call. That was Batman for you; he never bothers to waste time with a greeting. "You need to go to Chicago."

I raised an eyebrow behind my mask. "Chicago? What's interesting about-" And then it hit me. A couple of months ago I'd brought a certain friend to the circus - _my _circus. He said he'd never been to one so I extended an invitation. It was also to help him shake off the pall of the last case we'd worked together. He was the only Chicagoan I knew of whom Batman had an interest in.

"Harry." I breathed, already feeling cold dread creep into my stomach.

"His file has been compromised." Batman admitted gruffly. "Robin and I are tracing the source. We believe it isn't someone new."

I let out my breath in a whoosh. If it wasn't a newcomer, that means it must be from Batman's rogue gallery. In all his years of crime-fighting, Batman had amassed a lot of enemies, but there were only a handful of them who could hack into the Crays; and depending on what files they took, we could narrow down the suspects.

"Just his files?" I asked.

"Yes."

That means it's one of the more dangerous rogues. "I can be in Chicago in three hours."

I shut the comms and took a quick shower. My quarters in Titans Tower had enough of my spare clothing to pack for a few days' trip. Knowing Harry though, I hoped it wouldn't turn into an extended stay. The nightmares Harry faced often made me wish I was fighting a meta instead - because then I'd be facing another human, and not a bloodthirsty monster.

I'd planned to leave a message to the other Titans that I was taking a few days off. But I had to scratch that plan as soon as I stepped out of my room - Roy and Donna were already waiting for me outside.

"'Taking a few personal days' again, Wingster?" Roy snatched the note I'd hastily written from my hand, reading it in a second. "The last time you did that, Gillhead had to take over the reins."

"We heard your comms go off." Donna nudged Roy with her elbow, but her blue eyes held concern when she looked at me. "Did something happen?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Roy's been one of my best friends ever since we formed the Teen Titans together. We weren't really close at first, but when I helped him get rid of a nasty drug habit, he's been doggedly watching over my ass whenever I needed his help. It was probably because he still felt like he owed me even though I'd told him several times there was no debt in the first place.

Then there was Donna. She was the only female in our little group back then, and she pretty much had taken over the role of caring sister to our impulsive brothers. And as we grew up, her sisterly role evolved into that of den mother, always asking after us rowdy teenage heroes. How many times have she badgered me about my very little sleep?

I sighed and hitched my duffle bag higher on my shoulder. I didn't want to tell just anyone what happened, but these two wouldn't let me go until I explained the situation - and they weren't _just anyone_ after all. I met their gazes head on. "Someone hacked the Crays."

They both stilled, their faces carefully blank. They knew what those four words meant; it wasn't that long ago that the disaster of an enemy hacking into Batman's files had happened. Even though Batman was now back in the JLA again, there were still capes who distrusted the Bat. And with this second attempt, who knows how much they could trust him again. They might not even invite him back to the JLA, whether they needed him or not.

"Are we gonna have to batten down the hatches?" Roy asked tentatively. He knew - all the Titans did - that I had taken my own share of distrust because I threw my support behind Batman. It nearly tore the group apart - some of them siding with me, their leader for several years, and some of them siding with the League.

It made me glad that I had a bit of good news to give.

I smiled reassuringly and shook my head. "The hacker didn't get into the JLA files. As far as Batman and Robin know, none of the capes' files were touched."

Roy grinned in relief, "That's great, then! Isn't it?"

Donna however, was more suspicious. Batman had numerous files on not just capes and criminals, he also kept files on a few civilians he likes to keep track of. I'd told the original Titans stories of Commissioner Gordon among others. She was frowning as she stepped closer. "Then...why are you going?"

I sighed again and told them. "The file that was stolen wasn't about a cape."

Roy's eyebrows rose in surprise. "A civilian's? Whose?"

"Harry Dresden's."

"The wizard?" Donna asked. It wasn't just Commissioner Gordon I'd told stories of lately.

I nodded.

"We're coming with you."


	2. Harry

Notes: I'm trying out switching POV's for this fic heh.

DarthZ and Lupegarou4488: There's less action in this fic, but I kept up the banter :)

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><p>I hate kidnapping cases - the anxiety of not knowing where she is, how she is, or when she'll come back, <em>if<em> she'll come back. There's the worry of knowing that wherever she is, someone bad has her, and then there's the all-consuming regret: Shouldn't have argued, would've hugged tighter, could've called out to her. Shoulda woulda coulda.

Alyanna Chai was walking home from the neighbor's when she disappeared. It was daytime, and there were no witnesses save two neighbors who noticed an unfamiliar van parked by the end of the street. Other neighbors also mentioned hearing a car drive past when Alyanna vanished. For the cops handling the case, it was a lead but it was slim and it didn't surprise anyone when they hit a dead end.

So the Chais came to me. The Chais had a minor practitioner friend who was also a part of the Paranet. This same friend, upon seeing their grief, referred them to me. After a brief interview with the Chais and my reassuring them that finding things (or people, for that matter) was my specialty, I was led to the girl's room.

It had been three days since Alyanna's disappearance - making some of my usual tracking spells useless. But that didn't mean I was out of options. I made a living out of finding things; if I couldn't, I'd probably go back to helping my old mentor Nick into finding lost kids. Either way, I'd still end up looking for Alyanna.

I drew a circle in the middle of Alyanna's room, holding her favorite stuffed bear with one hand. I had difficulty finding out where Alyanna is, so I tried tracking down where she's been. The stuffed bear had enough of a thaumaturgical link to Alyanna so I used that to point me in the right direction.

I had a brief bout of vertigo when I stood up and broke the circle. I set the bear on the floor and it immediately spun like a weather vane, stopping to face one direction. "Lead on, McDuff." I muttered, picked the bear up and left the Chais followed by my dog.

I had given the Chais a somewhat believable line of Mouse being a hunting dog that could help me track down their daughter. The truth though, like everything else about me, belonged more to a fantasy book than real life: Mouse wasn't my tracker, he was my backup when things go south.

The spell led me to a rundown apartment in the middle of downtown. I parked the Beetle and got into the apartment building; I was never scared of anyone actually stealing my Beetle. Formerly blue, it now sported one white door, one red, a green trunk, and its interior was mostly held together by wooden planks and duct tape. Nope, no one in his right mind would steal my car.

I walked past the empty lobby, went up three flights of stairs that creaked with every step, and stopped at apartment 406. The few neighbors I'd passed just looked at me warily then went back to minding their own business. I thought about talking to some of them when Mouse gently nudged the door open.

It was unlocked.

I shook out my shield bracelet and carefully pushed the door the rest of the way open.

The apartment itself was a small, two bedroom affair; with its furniture worn down to sport holes the size of baseballs, its floor spotted with cracks and scuff marks, and that wasn't even mentioning the clutter. Dirty dishes still clogged the sink. Stained clothes were thrown haphazardly throughout the room.

I cautiously stepped into the apartment. Judging by the light coating of dust, no one had obviously entered the place for a couple of days. And if this is where the kidnappers had stashed Alyanna...

The door to the right led to a small bathroom. It was pretty empty, in contrast to the rest of the apartment from what I could see. The middle door yielded a bedroom filled with more clutter.

At the third door, Mouse's ears perked up and a low rumble came from his throat.

I held out my staff - my blasting rod would be too much for cramped spaces like this, and I already hit my quota of burned down buildings for this month.

Coils of rope were the first thing I saw, a moment before I realized the brown spots weren't stains but rather dried blood. "Bingo."

The rope was frayed at both ends, and chewed in some places. There weren't enough blood stains to indicate an open wound, so I guessed Alyanna was just tied too tightly the ropes scratched her wrists.

I bent down to take the rope - something on it might help me pick up her trail again - when I spotted the torn piece of paper among the clutter by the closet door. There was dried blood on one side of the paper, the brown-red stain was what drew my eye to it in the first place...and there was an address scribbled on it.

It was an address just by the border of Chicago.

"The game is afoot," I murmured in glee.

The address was a private airfield near O'Hare Airport. I parked the Beetle in an empty lot beside it, cast a veil over Mouse and me, and casually went through the open gate. There was a guard standing by one of those operated beams that block cars from passing through, but there was ample space for pedestrians to pass through. The guard never blinked as we went past him.

The first hangar was shut tight. Its side door even had a padlock securing it. I didn't feel anything around the hangar except for a lingering aura of disuse so I kept walking. The second hangar was similarly locked. I had almost decided to keep going when I rounded the corner and saw a black van parked in the back. Its doors were wide open; and I took that to mean someone had left in a hurry. The Chais' neighbors said they saw a black van when Alyanna disappeared. I guessed this was the same black van.

I was halfway to the van when Mouse stopped. His ears were up and pointed towards the hangar, lips curled back in a barely audible snarl. I grabbed my blasting rod and shook out my shield bracelet. The rod's runes glowed as I gathered my will and faced the hangar, prepared to unleash elemental forces with a word.

Mouse suddenly charged forward.

He collided with something in mid-air. There was a haze - like heated air in the middle of a hot day - and a tawny shape suddenly appeared, wrestling with my dog. I could only get a glimpse of its four legs and golden fur when my neck prickled.

I dove sideways and something big and scorching hurtled past where I had been standing. Dust clouds rose where it landed, but I still couldn't see it. It could have been an animal the size of a bear or a freaking boulder for all I knew. The only thing I was sure of, it was still gunning for me.

I brought my left hand out, activating my shield bracelet, and brought up my Sight. I was just in time to see the creature lunge at me.

My eyes seared with its burning brightness. I raised my hand to block the light - and the creature's weight knocked me off my feet. My duster protected me from its claws but it swiped at me hard enough to leave bruises. Tears streamed from my eyes. I slammed my staff in its mouth to keep it from biting me. Up close, it was all I could do not to flinch away from its burning intensity.

Its weight was pressing on my chest. I couldn't get enough air. It was only a matter of seconds before my arms failed and the beast chomped down on me. I braced my left arm on the staff and activated a force ring. A punch sent it flying and I gulped in air as I scrambled to my feet.

With my eyes leaking, I could hardly see the monster. Snarls somewhere to my left told me Mouse had his paws full. I had barely gathered enough will for a spell - and it was already charging back at me.

I brought up my shield arm - a moment before another bright shape dropped in front of me.


	3. Dick 2

Notes: Would you believe, I practically forgot to post this last night? I'll post the next chapter in a couple of hours.

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><p>I spotted Harry's Beetle by a neighboring airfield when we came in for landing. Harry was a wizard investigator, the only professional wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook, which makes him one of the main go-to guys whenever weird things started happening. It usually meant that when he was found somewhere you wouldn't expect him to be, it's because he was on a case.<p>

"Side trip, guys," I told Roy and Donna, switching through the external cameras to see if I could spot the wizard. I'd worked with Harry before; I knew he could take care of himself. But sometimes, I knew he needed someone to watch his back. His burned left hand was proof of the dangers he'd faced, and it wasn't the worst of the injuries he's taken. I'd seen his scars.

"Got something, Wingster?" Roy sat up from his lounging position and folded out his bow. He knew that when I started checking the monitors, it meant something was about to happen. "Trouble?"

"Could be." I spotted two figures by the hangars and banked the Titans Jet to land somewhere near. I hadn't planned on taking the jet at first, but Roy talked me into it.

"You need to warn this guy, right?" he and Donna had trailed after me as I headed for the doors, "And you need to do it the sooner the better. So what's better than the T-Jet?"

"This isn't a Titans mission-" I started to object but Donna stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"You're going, Roy and I are going. That's three of the founders going." She pointed out.

"For the last time, I didn't agree to let you come along." I raked a hand through my hair in frustration. "This doesn't concern capes outside of me, Batman, and Robin."

"So we're inviting ourselves along." Roy snagged my other arm, giving me a grin like he was challenging me to make a break for the exit. I was tempted to do it too, but I didn't want to wrestle against Donna's Amazonian strength. "You said it was one of your big bad rogues, right? You might need some backup."

"Dick," Donna's smile turned into a grin, "you know we're not letting you go alone, don't you?"

I looked them both in the eye - two of my closest friends in the world. We'd gone through a lot together, even through times when I wanted to go solo. Back then, I was glad they came along. And now? Now, I had a feeling this was turning out to be one of those times.

It was a good thing I listened to that feeling.

I sent Troia as soon as I saw the cat mauling Harry. She could fly, and she could reach the wizard faster than either me or Roy. One word and she was out the hatch even before I landed the jet.

I set the jet on automatic hover - I didn't want to land any farther from the fight, but I didn't want to get too close to Harry either. One of his spells could just as easily hit the jet as his natural EMP field could wreak havoc on its systems. Then I sprinted for the hatch, Roy following behind me.

We hit the ground running as soon as the jet stabilized. Troia was now holding the cat's front paws above its head. It couldn't swipe at her with its front paws, nor could it get enough leverage to use its hind paws. Its neck was also too short for it to bite her. But when I got closer, I saw that the stalemate was about to go over.

Because it wasn't a normal cat.

Its pointed ears were too big for a mountain lion, its snarling face bore markings that I'd never seen before..._and it had a scorpion tail that was about to jab Donna._

"R.A! The tail!" I'd barely finished shouting when Roy let an arrow fly.

The arrowhead burst into a net that wrapped around the scorpion tail. Attached lead weights bore the tail to the ground. The cat turned to us in surprise and Troia flung it in an overhead flip and slammed it to the cement. A second arrow quickly netted the entire cat.

There was movement to my right.

I whipped out my escrima sticks and whirled to face it, but the mound of gray fur streaked past me. It ignored both Roy and Donna to pounce on the downed cat. Its head darted forward. There was a dull crack, and the cat went limp.

"Did it just...?" Roy paused, raising his bow to aim at the gray creature even as he tilted his head in curiosity. "Is that a _dog_?"

I stared at the creature and sure enough, I realized that the mass of gray fur was a dog. A _big _one. It had floppy ears, long, shaggy fur, and when it turned to face us, it yawned a mouth full of sharp, white fangs.

"Are you alright?" With the fight over, Donna had moved to offer Harry a helping hand which was waved off.

"Stars, I'm _fine_. Just...gimme a minute." Harry had his eyes clenched shut. His duster didn't look scratched in any way, but that was how his duster usually went. It was spell-protected and was impervious to knives and bullets...and claws. But once Harry took it off, his skin would probably show several long bruises. His coat protected him from weapons slashing him open, but not from the impact of those same weapons.

When Harry opened his eyes, the first thing he did was stare at Donna. "Stars and stones."

"Are you alright?" Donna frowned in concern. "You're crying."

"Stared into the light too much." He said, swiping at his face with his left hand. His right held both his staff and his shorter blasting rod. "I'm still seeing spots from my life flashing in front of my eyes. But thanks for your help uhh..."

"It's Troia." I told him, stepping closer. He turned towards me in surprise, as though he wasn't expecting me. I couldn't blame him. When he left Bludhaven to go back to Chicago, he'd hoped we didn't have to team up again anytime soon; he wanted to enjoy a couple of months off without facing another apocalypse.

Harry was really tall, even taller than Batman. But where Bruce had a heavy build, Harry was wiry - more like a pole than a runner. His dark leather duster and scruffy look - he almost always looked like he just woke up and went for a run - gave him a somber appearance.

"Nightwing." He stated, almost like he was expecting bad news.

"Good to see you again, Harry." I grinned, and gestured towards my teammates, "this is Troia and Red Arrow. Guys, meet Harry Dresden."

Harry gave them a thoughtful look but he was addressing me when he asked, "Your friends in the League?"

"Oh, no." Donna said with a laugh. "We're reservists. But we have our own group called Titans."

Harry opened his mouth to say something but Roy interrupted with, "Sorry to break up the conversation but, the dog?"

I glanced over; the dog had its tongue out and was looking at us with interest. With the lack of other people in the area, it could only mean one thing. I signaled for Roy to lower his bow. "I didn't know you had a big dog." I told Harry.

"Mouse isn't a dog." Harry said. "He's a baby wooly mammoth."

The dog's jaws dropped open wider in a doggy grin.

"So, are we working another case?" Harry asked me, his tone reserved as though he wouldn't like whatever answer I was going to give him. And he'd be right, of course.

"You could say that. But first," I nodded towards the dead cats...only to realize the corpses had turned into some sort of slime while we were talking. "What the-"

"Ectoplasmic goo." Harry explained, catching my surprise. "Happens when you kill the physical body of a Nevernever resident."

"So, your dog didn't really kill it?"

"Just its vessel. As for what it was, I can't tell you."

Roy was frowning at him with suspicion. "Can't or won't?"

"Can't. Because I have no freaking idea what it was either."

"I think it's a manticore." Donna suggested, her clear blue eyes thoughtful. "Body of a lion, scorpion tail, face markings."

"I thought manticores were supposed to have a human face." Harry countered with a pout. The wizard was often the one to explain things to me, back when he worked a case with Batman and I. Having someone else - a non-paranormal - be more knowledgeable about his world than him must have rankled.

"It's a myth. Books aren't really sure of what it looks like exactly. All they have to go by are stories from people who've claimed to see one and sometimes, people exaggerate." She gave Harry a smile. "The Amazons have been part of Man's mythology for centuries. We pick up a few interesting stories now and then."

" 'We?' You're an Amazon?" The wizard stared at her - well, at her forehead, to be exact - as though he couldn't believe she was real. I guessed that even with all the creatures Harry claimed to have met, he hadn't had the chance to run across an Amazon.

"So what are you working on right now?" I asked Harry.

"Kidnapping case. Found a trail that led to the van." He jerked his head towards a van parked by an empty hangar. I spotted the black van with its doors wide open.

"Sounds like something up your alley, Wingster." Roy nudged me, quickly drawing Harry's suspicion.

"Wait a minute, this is one of your 'metas gone bad' deals?" Harry asked.

"Not really. It's a separate case and-"

There was a shadow overhead.

We all glanced up to find two capes flying in: one of whom I was expecting, but the other? I didn't think Batman would actually let _him_ assist in this case. After all, if Batman couldn't trust his colleagues with Gotham City, why would he trust them with something that shouldn't involve the League in the first place?


	4. Harry 2

Notes: One thing for sure, there's not a short chapter this time around. I was working on going longer.

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><p>It wasn't normal, Nightwing showing up to help me out. He had his city, I had mine; he had every other crisis while I took care of the supernatural ones. And then he dropped in with two of his buddies - that meant something bad's going on.<p>

And when Batman comes along being carried by none other than _Superman_, the bad just went worse.

Hell's bells, I should've gotten more sleep.

"Alright," I announced as soon as Superman and Batman landed, "first of all, the answer's no."

Superman blinked - he was tall enough that I could look him in the eyes so I kept my gaze to his nose, "I haven't even asked-"

Batman held up a hand as he stepped forward. " 'No?'"

I crossed my arms. "No, I'm not joining your League. Or your Titans, either." I tossed at Nightwing. He opened his mouth to speak but I was already turning back to Batman. "And no, I'm not letting you take over this case."

Batman let the cape fall down his front, effectively hiding the rest of his body. If he meant it to be intimidating, it wasn't working. I've still got spots in my vision and all he did was make himself into a bigger black spot. "We're not here to take over your job."

"That's good then, because it's mine and I'm still doing it. So if you could just wait here," I tucked my blasting rod back underneath my duster and turned for the van, "I've got a little girl to find."

Padded footfalls followed me, along with the thumping of boots. I didn't have to look back to know Mouse and a couple of capes were behind me. I squashed a flash of irritation - Mouse is a normal sight following me around but the capes were another matter. Their colorful costumes would attract attention everywhere and I was still on the clock.

"You know, you could let Bats and Wingster help you." Red Arrow spoke up. He had folded up his bow and had kept it somewhere on his back. "Bats is still the World's Greatest Detective and Wingster's Second Greatest. Couldn't hurt to have both of them along, right?"

"I've got a different investigating style." I answered a little surly. I'm a fully licensed wizard investigator, I can handle my own cases.

"So what, you're like a psychic or something?"

"Or something." I glanced back, not meeting their curious eyes. There was absolutely no need to give another costumed vigilante more nightmares."Why are you following me?"

"You were attacked by manticores." Troia answered, her body hugging black outfit sparkling in the sun like a star-filled night sky. Red Arrow was calmly walking beside her, his red-themed costume somehow matching his rugged look. "Nightwing wouldn't want something to happen to you."

"Like what? Look, lady," I stopped walking to face them, keeping my gaze on the middle of their foreheads. "I appreciate the help, really. But if you keep tagging along, sooner or later those manticores are going to be replaced by _worse _things. Things from your nightmares."

"Like monsters?" Red Arrow shrugged, the arrows at his back remained unmoving. I figured these vigilantes would have fancy quick-release gadgets that wouldn't fall off whenever they were upside down. "I've faced plenty of nightmarish monsters doing this job."

"We've all fought gods and demons at least once." Troia added.

"But you haven't..." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You know what, forget it. You can be my bodyguards as long as you don't get in my way."

"Titans is our name, bodyguarding's our game." Red Arrow joked. Even I had to admit that was a bad one.

"Excluding the bathroom." I interjected.

"Excluding the bathroom." He agreed.

"Glad you agree on something." Troia murmured, rolling her eyes.

"In my job, you can go stir crazy if you can't get your smiles somewhere." I said.

"Sounds like our job." Nightwing came up, bringing the other two vigilantes. He grinned when I shot him a questioning look. "I convinced Batman and Superman to help. The faster we solve your case, the sooner you can help us."

I gave him a skeptical look but he just kept grinning at me so I gave in just to keep the kid happy. "Fine. But we do this by my rules, and when I say 'jump'-"

"We ask 'how high?'" Red Arrow threw in.

"No. You jump. Don't waste any freaking second asking." I strode onwards to the abandoned van, intent on starting my investigation only to have my way blocked by my dog. "Mouse?"

The mound of fur gave me a look as if to say, 'Not that way, idiot.' Then he headed off towards the hangar. I followed him, and the rest of the vigilantes fell in behind me.

Mouse sat down again by the hangar's side door. His lips weren't curling back into a snarl so I figured it was safe and reached for the doorknob, only then did I realize it was unlocked. Whoever last used the place must have forgotten to lock it or...

"It's empty." Superman spoke up. "I don't hear anything inside."

Right, super hearing. I could have done that.

I pushed the door open with a grumble. Just because the World's Mightiest Mortal didn't hear a thing doesn't mean there isn't a veiled monster waiting to eat your face. But Mouse could cut through veils and glamour like they were nothing, and I trusted my dog more than the vigilante in this case.

The hangar's interior was dim, bright only where shafts of sunlight came in through the high windows. Mouse snuffled and shouldered me aside as he went straight in.

"Guess that means 'all clear.'" I muttered and took a step inside, then froze at the pall hanging over the place.

The haze of fear and helplessness was old - maybe a couple of sunrises ago - but it still left an impression on the empty space. At the corner of my eye, Troia shivered and rubbed her arms.

"You okay?" Red Arrow asked her, snaking an arm around her shoulders. I guessed these two were lovers or something for them to be so close.

"I'm alright," she answered. "It's just...there's something here..."

"You feel that too?" I turned to her, keeping my eyes on her forehead. "I'm not surprised. Even a couple of days old, the energy here's too strong. It's seeped into the walls."

"What energy?" Batman asked, coming up beside me.

"Psychic energy." I waved around the empty hangar. "There's a lot of terror and helplessness in this place. Too much for it all to come from Alyanna. I'd say there's more than one victim here."

"Can you trace the other victims?"

"Let's find out." I walked deeper into the hangar, glancing at the bare space. The smoothed cement floor was mostly bare, with several pieces of equipment and knick-knacks shoved to the sides. Here and there I spotted what looked like grease stains as well as a few skid marks made by wide tires. And while the various apparatus looked like so much clutter, everything had its place: tools were stored and somewhat organized, portable machinery sitting in spaces where they wouldn't trip anyone walking past. Hell, I didn't even smell anything other than grease, rubber, and heated earth.

"They weren't in a hurry to leave," I muttered mostly to myself, but Superman heard me.

"What makes you say that?" the big guy asked.

"It's clean." Nightwing answered for me. He and Batman strode forward to take a closer look at the clutter scattered through the sides. Mouse had seated himself in the bare center and looked at everyone with interest. "No stray tools, no machines lying on its side, even some of the grease splatters have been scrubbed."

"But the apartment where they stashed Alyanna was cluttered." I offered. "There were dishes left unwashed on the sink."

"And the van outside was left open." Troia pointed out. She still had her arms wrapped around her as though it was chilly.

"Dresden." I glanced to where Batman stood. He was standing by an empty space by the back of the hangar where the sunlight barely reached, casting the area in shadow. "Do you feel any energy in this space?"

I crossed over; pausing when I realized the miasma I felt all over the hangar came from that corner. "Stars and stones, that's a lot of energy."

Batman nodded. "There's space enough here to hold a half dozen people at the least. I've also found several hairs and fibers that need to be analyzed."

"I can help with that." I pulled out a plastic baggie of copper filings and a piece of chalk from my duster's pockets. I knelt on the floor and drew a circle around myself, willing it closed. Baggie in one hand, I reached for the magic swirling within the circle and shaped it into the filings, muttering, "_Illumina magnus_."

When the spell was done, I rose to my feet and broke the chalk circle with my foot. Then I flung the filings into the shadowy corner and watched the tiny specks outline several huddled figures.

"Hell's bells," I muttered. "The kidnapper's been doing this for weeks."


	5. Dick 3

Notes: In addition to writing lengthier stories, I'm also practicing juggling more than three characters at once.

DarthZ: It was either kidnappers or...never mind. It's just really kidnappers heh.

* * *

><p>I stared at the forming images in front of Harry. Where the copper filings fell, they stuck on empty air as though they were falling on an invisible glue sculpture. The sculptures weren't detailed by themselves but their facial features were still recognizable. Their clothes though, were hopeless. All in all, the fragments formed into eight people, bound at wrists and ankles.<p>

It was like a miserable sculpture made of red sand.

"Whoa," Roy gasped. "That's something you don't see every day."

"How'd you do that?" Donna's eyes were similarly wide with awe.

"Copper filings." Harry replied, dusting his hands free of leftover filings. "It conducts energy, and strong emotions like rage or fear become psychic energy that seeps into structures over a period of time. I just charged the filings to stick to areas of high emotion." He waved a hand at the figures. "These people were afraid for their lives and some of them have been here for days. That's a lot of energy to soak into this space."

"Superman." Clark jumped at Bruce's voice. I smirked, amused that Batman could still startle the big guy and that Bruce probably enjoyed doing it. "See if you recognize any of these faces."

I raised an eyebrow behind my mask as Clark leaned in, pointing to two of the figures. "This one, Mrs. Benson. She's been reported missing for a week. And this one, Cole Nedrick, gone for five days. The rest I haven't seen."

Clark _knew _these people? How was he involved in all this?

"Hold it," Harry butted in, "are you saying our cases are connected? That you're after the kidnappers too?"

"We're not exactly going after _any_ kidnappers." I cut in, glancing at Clark. "How'd you know these people?"

"I was-"

"Explanations later." Batman growled. "We need to evac this hangar now. Nightwing." I tilted my head towards him. "Go with Dresden. Superman, you're with me. We'll all meet up again later."

"And what about us?" Roy spoke up, gesturing to himself and Donna.

"You guys go on back to the Jet." I told them. "Find a discreet place to land before following us."

"Wait," Harry called after Batman's retreating back. "What do you mean, 'go with Dresden?' I'm in the middle of a case here. I can't just-"

"Can you track the other victims?"

"No, but-"

"Then there's nothing else of use to us here. We need to re-convene at another, _safer _place."

"Stars and stones, are you even listening-"

"Come on, Harry," I came up and placed a hand on the wizard's shoulder, keeping him from protesting further. Bruce was right, we've investigated all we could in this place and have come up with a couple of leads - more, thanks to Harry's magic. And now we'll have to retreat and evaluate what we got.

For Bruce to suddenly leave like that, it could mean two things: 1) he had a new lead to follow or 2) something happened. His dragging Clark along meant that not only would he have considerable backup, but he'd also be able to find us when he was done. It was funny to think of Superman, the World's Strongest Hero, reduced to being transport for Batman.

We left the hangar and split up to go our separate ways. I followed Harry to the airfield's parking lot, guiding him when he had to veil us past the ignorant guard. I almost didn't believe him when he said he couldn't keep us invisible and see at the same time; and then he explained that he didn't specialize in the delicate magics. It reminded me of the other capes I worked with, and how they may be powerhouses in an all-out brawl but they couldn't disarm a bomb.

"Not the most effective of guards, is he?" I murmured to Dresden, gesturing towards the oblivious guard behind us once we were out of earshot.

"If I had a job watching over miles of nothing, I wouldn't be effective too." Harry countered.

"Hard to find good help these days." I added with a laugh.

We reached the multi-colored Beetle a few minutes later, Mouse jumping in first to take the backseat. I paused by the passenger door.

"Your car?" I asked Harry, pretending that I didn't already know it was the one car registered to him. Bruce was very thorough in his research and Harry had no idea just how extensive his file is on the Crays.

"Don't diss the mighty Blue Beetle." Harry retorted, folding himself into the driver's side.

"As you say," I shrugged cheerfully and tucked myself into the passenger seat. The car's interior was barely held together with duct tape and wooden planks and while it wasn't the most comfortable seating I'd experienced, it was tolerable. Almost anything is when you've gotten used to cold seats at the Cave. I strapped myself in and when I turned to look at Harry, he was staring at me with amazement.

"Stars and stones, do you have cat ancestry in your blood?"

"What do you-" Then it dawned on me. I'm one of the more _flexible _capes in the community and had been trained ever since I was born. It was practically second-nature to me to be so bendy that I could fit into a variety of small spaces - a plus when being a non-powered cape. So I gave Harry a grin and said, "No cats. Just a lifetime of acrobatics." I turned to the front. "So, where are we headed?"

Surprise colored the wizard's tone. "You mean, you're letting me set the place?

"Batman wasn't specific when he said we had to meet up somewhere else."

"Alright." He started the car and pulled away from the lot. "I might be crazy for thinking this, but I'm taking you to my place."

The drive was mostly quiet. I didn't mind the silence. Harry had a lot on his mind and so did I - foremost of which is who copied Harry's files and why did they want it? Knowing what the wizard can do, the obvious answer to the second question would be: his magic. But there were several other mages out there, costumed or not; one or two of whom were more powerful than Harry. Which brings me to ask: what does Harry have and the other mages don't?

It's definitely not some artifact in the wizard's possession or there'd be a robbery attempt. It can't be because of his contacts as those other mages I mentioned had their own networks too. Then what could it be?

"We're here," Harry announced, bringing me out of my thoughts. I glanced out the Beetle's window to see a plain brownstone apartment. Harry had just parked and was now climbing out. I copied him and left the door open so the dog could come out.

"So this is where you live?" I asked the wizard.

"Basement apartment." Harry nodded.

Mouse suddenly paused to look up behind us. I followed the dog's gaze to find Donna flying in, Roy in her arms.

"Stars, you vigilantes have a thing for heights, don't you?" Harry muttered as the two landed.

"Beats traffic." Roy answered back with a grin.

"Great. You guys have it easy while us mortals have to contend with things like the front door." The wizard complained as he led the way to his apartment. I watched as he made a couple of passes on the door, and then shoved it open with a shoulder. I inwardly raised an eyebrow at the thick steel door and the ungainly way Harry had to open it - the wizard must have experienced a few home invasions to have to resort to a bulky door.

The wizard stepped inside and turned around to face us. "Consider me paranoid but, I'm not inviting you in."

I gazed back at him in question, but he stepped aside to let us enter. It hit me then, the quick lesson on thresholds and wards, and I immediately understood.

"It's ok, guys," I reassured Roy and Donna and entered the wizard's abode.


	6. Harry 3

Notes: I'm getting more of the different universes into this heh.

DarthZ: Harry Dresden's "Mighty Blue Beetle": originally blue but the roof's white, the front hood's red, the front door's green, and I think the trunk's a different color too but I forgot. And the interior? Planks of wood stuck in place with duct tape. I don't remember all the details though.

* * *

><p>As soon as the vigilantes entered, I called out a<em> "flickum bickus;" <em>it was a simple spell to make all the candles in my apartment light up. I didn't have electricity and I couldn't keep any income at all if I kept replacing light bulbs every day so I was left with candles. Mouse went to lie down on his usual spot by the tiny alcove I call my kitchen. His bulk almost filled the entire area.

"Cozy place you got here." Red Arrow commented, taking in my apartment. I didn't need to hear any sarcasm to know what he was talking about: the mismatched, second-hand furniture and rugs, the books on magic, and various knick knacks that looked like junk to most but were useful to a wizard like me.

I gave him a jaded look and said, "I've got two rules on buying furniture: a) it's comfy, and b) I can afford it."

"And the icebox?"

"Alright, _three_ rules. C) It doesn't run on electricity. No freezers, no microwave, and no water heaters among others. I blow fuses literally."

Red Arrow shrugged and dropped into one of the couches, seemingly making himself at home. "It's not too bad. Sounds like the Reservation, in a way."

"Or camping." Nightwing suggested.

I glanced at Red Arrow, at Nightwing, then back again. The way they talked, it almost sounded as if... Red Arrow unhitched his quiver and set it beside the couch; then he raised his arms and crossed them behind his head. I glared at him, folding my arms against my chest. "You're not staying here."

In answer, he looked to Nightwing. " 'Wing?"

The vigilante in question sighed. "It's what I wanted to talk to you about, Harry."

My eyes narrowed, remembering just who have come visiting me an hour ago. "You haven't told me why you were looking for me."

"I didn't say I was looking for you." Nightwing pointed out.

But I wasn't fooled for a minute so I kept my arms crossed. "You dropping by just in time to save my ass sounds too much like coincidence. And since I know I can't be that lucky, I can only assume that you were looking for me in the first place."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, it's not that serious but-"

I raised an eyebrow at him and he gave another sigh before finally relenting. "Someone's made a copy of your files from Batman."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, one of our rogues may be after you."

I grunted and headed for my icebox. My life had gotten to the point where it felt like everytime I went outside, someone would come gunning for me. And with the way this case was going, I needed a beer, Mac's home brew to be more specific. "Tell him to get in line. He can be at the bottom of the list after the Vampire Courts, the Denarians, hell, even the Fae Courts after my ass."

"Harry, we won't let our rogues get to you."

"So you're going to follow me everywhere, stay where I stay, sleep where I sleep?"

"No, we-"

"Then I told you. He can get in the freaking line and stay there."

"Harry." Nightwing's tone was exasperated. And no wonder, mine would be too if he was going to insist on assigning _bodyguards _to me. The last thing I wanted was to have a nosy vigilante prying into my lab...or my life, for that matter.

"Wait," Troia stepped over to place a hand on Nightwing's shoulder, her outfit sparkling red and yellow in the candlelight. "Leave him be, for now."

"What? Troia-"

"He's in his home." She gestured towards my steel door. "A wizard's home is one of the safer places in the world. And Mr. Dresden's wards are powerful, I've felt them myself."

"You can call me Harry, like your boss does." I interjected.

Red Arrow laughed from his reclining position on the couch. "He's not our boss, Harry. And it's a good thing too, or-"

"_Red. Arrow._"

The archer quickly shut up at Nightwing's tone. I was impressed though. I didn't know the kid had it in him. But then, this is the first time I've met Dick when he was in command.

"Okay, Harry," The vigilante scratched the back of his neck. I guess Troia's word holds more weight with him than mine. "We'll leave you in your apartment. But we'll have to meet up with Batman and Superman later to discuss your case. We'll call you." He turned to his teammates. "C'mon, guys. We still need to check into a hotel."

"With all the benefits of modern conveniences. Can't wait." Red Arrow cheered, rising to his feet and earning himself a nudge from Troia.

"Take care of yourself, Harry." She smiled at me right before they left my apartment. I made sure not to raise an eyebrow when _she _was the one who pulled my bulky door open to let the other two out.

Then, vigilantes gone, it was my turn to sigh and I now had another enemy to add to my list; face it, Harry, by the time I reach the end of my wizard's lifetime, I'll probably have the entire universe after my ass. Oh wait, it already is.

I finished the beer and waited until it was dusk, then went into my subbasement lab.

Bob woke up after a couple of raps on his skull. "Hey, Boss. You know, the only time I have a really nice dream of having a harem of bodacious babes under my thumb, you come knocking before I even get to enjoy it."

"You're a spirit, Bob. I don't think you can even enjoy it without possessing any one of them."

"Hey, I can still dream, can't I?"

"And I've still got a job to do so pipe down on the fantasy orgy."

The orange lights brightened with interest. "Something up with the case?"

"You have no idea." I sat down on the lone stool in the lab and told him what happened, leaving out the vigilantes helping me.

"Manticora." Bob said when I described the cats that attacked me. "Desert cats from Persia. They move in prides, like Malks, and are a little more intelligent than that."

"Like Foo dogs?" I asked, remembering what he said of Mouse.

"Nah. Foo dogs are descended from a celestial being. These cats just sprang from the Never. They're smart enough to organize themselves in packs, but they always need an outsider to get them to move in groups. Cats have too much _pride _in them, get it?"

I ignored the joke in favor of one bit of information. "So by 'Outsider' you mean a wizard?"

The skull rattled in affirmative. "If the wizard's powerful enough to keep them in line, the pride'd follow him. They're pretty hot - in temper and temperature - and can bend light to make themselves invisible. He'd be hard-pressed to mediate in a catfight when he couldn't see one or both of them."

The image of what I saw from this afternoon came to my mind, as sharp and clear as though I saw it a minute ago. "But they still remain visible with the Sight."

"Sure. They just bend light, not their appearance. The Sight can see the patterns of magic left behind when manticora hide."

I thought about that for a minute. If I was going up against a pride of manticora and I couldn't see them without my Sight, I was going to end up roast Harry. While Wizard's Sight is useful in cutting through veils and illusions, whatever I see with it stays fresh in my mind without fading. And thanks to years of detective work, my head has more than its share of lurid images. "Will the Gatekeeper's salve work with the manticora?"

"Can't see why not. That salve's potent enough to penetrate through faerie glamour. Manticora juju isn't as powerful as the sidhe's."

I nodded and made a mental note to brew more of that salve. I'd only had half a bottle left - just enough for me and one other person; which reminds me, when I'm going to fight against monsters in the next couple of days, I'll be bringing costumed vigilantes with me.

"Say Bob, do you know any of the superheroes running around?"

"You mean capes like the Justice League and so on and so forth? Nope, can't say I know any of them._ But_ I've heard talk about them at college parties and strip clubs." The skull's orange eyelights flashed in nervousness. "Not that I stay strictly at those places, boss. I mean, if you need more information on capes I could go and find them-"

"Not happening." I crossed my arms. "I don't want to see another article on any college orgies happening in the city."

"You're no fun." Bob sulked.

"Tell me what you know about their rogues."

The orange lights brightened. "Well, it'd help if you let me have another night out, y'know. Gather more intel."

I glared at him. "I said no, Bob. And I don't think there's enough reliable superhero talk to fill an entire book."

"You'd be surprised."

"No."

"Aw c'mon, Boss. I won't even stay at the colleges. I hear some high schools discuss capes in detail."

I sighed in frustration. "Just tell me what you know and I'll get you the latest Sophie Kinsell novel."

The skull's orange eyelights glinted. "Make it the entire Fairchild Hearts trilogy and you've got a deal."

"Alright, deal. The entire trilogy."

"Okay. You know about the Big Three, right?"

I nodded. Of course, who in America didn't? "Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman."

"The Big Three plus four others joined up and founded the Justice League during an alien invasion. I don't have the entire roster but I've heard of two Green Lanterns, a Flash, the King of Atlantis, three aliens, Capt. Atom."

I found myself getting even more unimpressed the more Bob rattled off the Justice League roster. I mean, if you faced vampires that fed on lust as well as blood and berserker werewolves every single day, it gets to the point where nothing surprises you anymore. Knowing that the supernatural is real, then aliens and other myths must be too. But Bob wasn't finished.

"Then some of these JL members have sidekicks who then formed-"

"-The Titans, I know." I interrupted.

"If you know about this stuff, then why ask me in the first place?" Bob huffed. It happened very rarely that I got to know more than Bob and I'd found that I didn't like the feeling. When a spirit of intellect actually knows less than you do, sooner or later you end up realizing that the universe loves its secrets and guards them like a jealous lover. More things in heaven and earth and all that.

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I only know because I met them."

The orange lights blinked before blazing intensely. "You...met...capes? Congratulations, Boss! You're moving up!"

"Moving down is more like it." I grumbled. "Nightwing said one of their rogues is after me."

"Nightwing, leader of the Titans, the first Robin, Batman's protégé, the guy with the finest ass among the capes? _That _Nightwing?"

"The same." I paused and immediately took back what I said. "Not about the ass, I mean. I have no idea what you mean by that."

"Sure, boss. Whatever you say." Then Bob's tone quickly shifted from teasing to something a little more serious when I mimed grabbing a hammer and bashing his skull in. "So he said one of the Titans' rogues wants to kill you?"

I shook my head. "No, not the Titans'. Batman's."

The orange lights dimmed into the barest glimmer. "Harry. You have no idea of the kind of rogues Batman deals with, do you?"

I swallowed whatever sarcastic reply I was about to say at his grave tone. When Bob went that way, it was time to sit up and take notice. So I replied with a simple, "No."

"They're some of the cruelest, insane, and most dangerous criminals the Winter Queen might invite to her Court."

I began to have second thoughts about the offhand way I'd treated Nightwing's news. Hell's bells, the universe really is out to get me.


	7. Dick 4

Notes: And the banter keeps going and going and going...

DarthZ: Harry goes through monsters like they were going out of style lol ;)

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><p>The good thing about being rich, I could afford the very best room in the best hotel in any state. But that didn't mean I made it a habit to. I was born in a circus that packed up and moved every month, grew up in a trailer that jounced and squeaked on the road, and hung out with people who didn't have more than five pairs of clothes to their name.<p>

And then I got adopted by the richest man in Gotham. Suddenly, ratty clothes weren't deemed good enough for me and my room had to be large enough to fit two or five of the trailers I used to live in. The changes weren't my idea, though. And I couldn't blame Bruce, because he wasn't alone in making those decisions.

"I believe you would find the Mediterranean fit to your tastes, sir." Alfred said through the comms. Roy, Donna, and I were piled in a taxi and headed for the five-star hotel the butler had recommended. We were all dressed in civvies and I'd asked him to help make arrangements for a longer stay in Chicago. He did all the bookings I needed through the Crays.

"They haven't been my tastes ever since I was nine, Alfie." I told him.

"Of course, sir, if you wanted a less accessible suite for your nightly activities, I could cancel the reservations-"

I gave a laugh. "Okay, Alfie, you win."

"As it should. Have a good trip, sir."

"He went all out?" Roy grinned expectantly from the back seat. The grin grew wider when I nodded. "Sweet!"

I had to agree with Roy. It was sweet - a penthouse suite, to be exact, at a five-star hotel. The stars were for Bruce when he came back - I may have grown up in a circus but Bruce was a rich kid from the start and seldom tolerates low class accommodations outside of necessity; the suite was for everyone to have a bed to sleep in and the penthouse for easy access to the roof. Being a vigilante meant that you can't have a fear of heights.

We checked in, and proceeded to the suite where Donna took first dibs on the shower. I brought out a laptop and searched for the names Clark had mentioned, as well as one Alyanna Chai while Roy made a phone call to Titans Tower to check on his daughter.

Lian was the main reason why I was reluctant to let Roy come along. Harry faced monsters everyday - I'd had a glimpse of them when I first met the wizard - and I didn't want those things to affect him and Lian. If being a cape already gave bad dreams, helping Harry sometimes gave worse.

"Lian's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me," Roy told me once. "You and me, we've seen a lot of bad stuff being a cape. But when I go home and my baby comes running," He smiled wistfully then, "it makes it all worthwhile."

I couldn't refute that. And it gave me hope that things will work out in the end.

"So what do you think of Harry?" I asked in an effort to dispel the silence.

"He's different from Zatanna," Donna remarked, just coming out of the shower.

"Tell me about it," Roy agreed. He had finished the phone call and had now taken over the couch. "Is it true about him and tech?"

I pulled out a change of clothes from my bag and stood. "Ask Tim who happened to fry the last seven communicators."

Roy whistled. "What'd Dresden do? Blow on them?"

"Yep."

"No wonder he lives without electricity." Donna murmured, drying her hair with a towel.

"Bruce never lets him ride _the car_." I grinned.

"Guy's as tall as Supes!" Roy exclaimed. "Who does he ride with in Gotham?"

I opened my mouth to answer but someone beat me to it. "Robin."

Any other time, Roy would've laughed at the image of a very tall wizard forced to fold himself on a bike behind my little brother. Instead, he and Donna jumped at the gravel voice that came suddenly from the balcony doors.

I glanced over to find Batman and Superman entering the suite.

"I swear, Bats, one of these days you'll cause a heart attack and then what does that get you?" Roy complained.

"A cardiac arrest." Batman replied deadpan.

Everyone, including me, gaped at the Dark Knight.

He glared at us in annoyance. "What."

"Did you just...make a joke?" Clark whispered, eyes still wide.

Bruce brushed off the looks and walked deeper into the suite. It was a normal sight - Batman ignoring stares and whispers like it doesn't affect him at all. Losing his parents early made Bruce emotionally stunted, in a way. But not to me. I can still remember the times when I woke up from my nightmares to find him sitting beside me, watching over my sleep. And sometimes, I can still remember how warm his cape felt around me when I was still small enough to hide underneath it.

The other capes frequently asked me why I was so loyal to the Bat. I still gave the same answer I've always given: he took me in when I had nowhere to go, and gave me back what I'd lost that night two decades ago - a home and a family.

Then Clark walked in and I was jolted back from my thoughts. Ever since I was nine, I can count on one hand the times I'd seen Superman look so...disturbed.

The big guy quietly entered the suite and sank down into the nearest armchair, his shoulders slumped as though he carried the weight of the world.

"What happened?" I asked.

Clark's blue eyes were shadowed as he gazed back at me in silence.

Batman though, remained unchanged except for the grimmer set to his lips. "Call up Oracle. Have her look into Dresden's Paranet and cross-check them with the missing."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "You mean..."

Batman's nod was stiff with concealed anger. "Robin traced the hacker." He shifted his head slightly towards Superman. "We've also found several bodies drained to mere husks."

I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. This was very, _very_ bad. "We need to tell Harry."


	8. Harry 4

Notes: Not a lot of action, really. But I hope things are still pretty entertaining :) Anyway, this is the chapter that made me start this fic.

DarthZ: Nope, he's really not as you can see here, hehehe.

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><p>Nightwing called me up early the next morning. I could hear his voice was grim even through the static on the phone, so I just agreed to meet them at their hotel in twenty minutes - after promising that I'll keep an eye out on the way. I'd spent the rest of last night after the discussion with Bob brewing more of the anti-glamour salve and ended up with a small jar full. It was more than enough for six people. Jar in hand, I grabbed my staff, blasting rod, shield bracelet, leather duster, partridge in a pear tree, and went out the door.<p>

Nothing happened on the drive to the hotel. I should be thankful, but experience taught me that the glass isn't always half-full so I made a mental note to return to my apartment later and come out loaded for demon bear. Right now, I had five worried vigilantes waiting in the upper class end of Chicago.

Not to my surprise, they had picked out the penthouse suite. I grumbled about costumed vigilantes and all their perks that let them disregard heights and front doors while the rest of us humans trudged up how many dozens of staircases because I didn't trust the death trap that was an elevator. The lobby guard and staff were giving me the evil eye and I ignored them in favor of heading for the stairs. I was about halfway there when I realized the penthouse suite was only accessible through the death trap.

I cursed to myself and turned back for the concierge's desk.

"May I help you, sir?" Frost couldn't get any icier than the concierge's tone as I stepped up.

"Yeah, could you phone up either Bruce Wayne or Richard Grayson that Harry Dresden's here?"

"Are they expecting you?" The guy was still looking down his nose at me.

"No, I go through hotels and drop random names at the lobby; of course I'm expected. They called me first, didn't they?"

"Very well."

I waited by the desk as the guy made the phone call. The lobby guard was still eyeing me like I was going to draw a gun and start screaming instructions and the hotel guests were no better. I guessed the people who pay a heck of a lot of money to stay in places like this had discriminating eyesight when it comes to my leather duster, old pair of jeans, Batman shirt and oak staff. Doesn't mean I'm ditching my duster or staff. Survival trumps fashion anytime.

The concierge came back looking stunned. Dick or his old man must have given him an earful.

"Mr. Grayson will be coming down shortly."

"I'll wait for him, thanks." I spotted an empty armchair and made my way over to it.

A couple of minutes later, I glanced up at a cheerful greeting, "Harry!"

I stood up and complained to him, "The penthouse, Dick? I practice running on a daily basis, but I have to draw the line at climbing up more than twenty stories' worth of staircases."

He gave me a puzzled look. "But, the penthouse is only accessible through the elevator."

"You don't want to stuff an impatient wizard in a death trap." I said deadpan.

"Point." His blue eyes frowned in thought for a moment then brightened. "I've got an idea."

So it happened that we went outside the hotel - I thought I saw the concierge heave a relieved sigh to see me go - and Dick spoke in a casual tone, "Hey, Supes, mind giving us a lift?"

"A lift? What are you nu-_oop_!" I didn't have any warning, just something going around my chest and my insides suddenly feeling like they'd all fallen out through my stomach. And then I was looking down on the street with the people rapidly shrinking. I swallowed down a brief sense of vertigo and said shakily to my ride, "You've got supervision, right?"

"Of course." Superman said, clutching both Dick and me like we weighed nothing.

"Could you look for my stomach? I think I left it down there."

Dick laughed from Superman's other arm. "Sorry, Harry. This way gets you to the penthouse faster than the stairs."

"Yeah, yeah, I got that. The trick is to _give a guy a warning next time_."

"Sorry." Both vigilantes said sheepishly.

It took less than the time it takes to heat a can of soup for us to land on the penthouse balcony. The other vigilantes were waiting for us by the doors and were the first to spot my shirt. I think Batman looked a little smug underneath the non-expression he wore. The others weren't so silent.

"Nice shirt," Red Arrow smirked.

I shrugged. "They didn't have any that said 'I worked with Batman and all I got was this lousy shirt.'"

"Now I know what to give you for your birthday." Dick joked as we entered the suite. Superman closed the doors behind us and everyone went to take a seat on the cushiony chairs. I stayed standing because it was the only spot I could see that wasn't near the television or coffee maker or other gadgets.

I grumbled. "Forget my birthday. Best gift you could give me then is a grenade launcher in case of a zombie apocalypse."

The vigilantes winced at my mention of the zombie apocalypse and I began to wonder whether it had happened to them too. I know I've got my own share of apocalypses - my door can attest to that.

"Forget the apocalypse." Batman stepped up, raising himself to his full height - still a few inches shorter than beanpole me but it never detracted from his looming presence. He held my gaze through the white lenses in his cowl. "We need to talk."

I faked a gasp, "You're breaking up with me?"

His glare intensified. "Don't be ridiculous. We found out who hacked into my computers: it was Ra's al Ghul."

"Uh, who?"

Troia piped up. "He's an eco-terrorist who wants to get rid of all the humans on Earth and restart with a clean slate that has him as ruler."

"And he's immortal." Nightwing added.

"With a bunch of ninjas to do his bidding." Red Arrow said.

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I've had my own share of immortal megalomaniacs too. And they usually meant very bad news. "What."

Batman growled. "Ra's made a copy of your file. _Everything_ in your file."

His words ran in circles in my head. To anyone else, my file reads more like a fiction novel and the Paranet numbers just that; a compilation of phone numbers from all over the country. But to those in the know - practicioners and metahumans and villainous megalomaniacs as Batman painted this Ra' Al Ghul guy - it means a possible untapped pool of power.

That is, if you believed my file in the first place.

"Does he-"

Batman cut me off before I could finish the sentence. "Ra's Al Ghul has masterminded several schemes involving religious myths and magic rituals. Yes, he believes the truth in your file."

I wanted to disbelieve him. But Batman was never known to crack a joke or lie about something as serious as this.

"Okay," I exhaled slowly, telling myself there's no need to invite a possible nightmare that hasn't happened yet. "So, he's immortal and genocidal. Why would he want my files in the first place?"

It was Nightwing who answered. "Ra's rejuvenates himself with a dip in a hollow full of chemicals called a Lazarus Pit. But lately, the Pit doesn't work for him anymore. He claims Earth's pollution had corrupted it but we believe he had just taken one dip too many."

"And what does that have to do with-"

Then the implications of what he said hit me. This Ra's guy knew the secret to wizards' long lives. And if what I was thinking were true, he was looking to extend his _very _long life. He also knew where a lot of minor practicioners lived. And he had a bunch of ninjas to snatch people up.

Means, Motive, and Opportunity.

But I was attacked by manticoras in the private airfield. Unless this guy could command a pride of supernatural desert cats, he was separate from Alyanna's case and the rest of the kidnapped people. Which reminds me...

"And your part in all this?" I asked Superman.

He shifted his weight from one foot to another and replied, "I'd heard of three missing persons in Metropolis in just three days. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I found out there were similar missing in other states within the same week. I went to ask Batman to assist and we ran into you."

"We've also found bodies." Batman stated. "Drained."

My voice was practically breathless with horror when I asked, "How many?"

"Sixteen. Including the two I identified in the hangar." Superman said hollowly.

I could hardly believe it. Here it was, the nightmare I was afraid of happening, just happened. And it all started because of one man.

Hardly a second passed for my horror to turn into anger.

The lights started flickering as I glared at Batman. "I _gave _you that information. I even told you what might happen if the wrong someone were to take it. And you let one of your rogues casually stroll in to steal it."

Batman neither flinched nor did he glare back. "I installed several security protocols into the Crays. My information is as secure as I could make it."

"But it wasn't enough, was it?" My staff started glowing. "He kidnapped _sixteen _people to dissect them; never mind that they don't have enough power to qualify for a wizard's lifespan." I leaned forward, my rage a blazing fire in my gut. "If those people are dead, it's all on _your head._" Then I stormed out of the room and took the flickering lights with me.


	9. Dick 5

Notes: Have plane. Must travel.

DarthZ: Hee hee gotta love the shirt :)

VM mercenary: Ah, I knew I'd lost my 'feel' for Harry. This is what happens when I haven't read anything Dresden for months. And actually, this fic took me half a year to write. That's how difficult it was for me to finish this. But thanks for the idea, I'll definitely keep it in mind ;)

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><p>I ran after Harry before he could take more than two steps into the hallway. It was wide enough for me to squeeze past the wizard and block his way.<p>

"Move or I will move you." He snarled at me, eyes blazing and his staff glowing. I had a quick memory of an angry wizard blasting half a dozen statues to bits and almost took a step back. But I inwardly shook myself and made sure to keep my eyes on his dark eyes.

"No, Harry-"

The wizard cut me off. "He _promised_, Dick. He promised he'd keep the files safe."

"It's not. His. Fault!" I burst out, feeling a little satisfaction when Harry stopped in his tirade. But shouting at the wizard would only lead to him leaving in a huff. So I took a breath and tried again, in a softer tone. "I promised too, Harry. Remember?"

I held his gaze captive, not budging an inch. We'd bared our souls to each other once, even if it was by accident. I was counting on the fact that he'd know enough of my soul to trust me now; because when you're up against someone like Ra's, you'll need all the help you can get.

Then he closed his eyes and his shoulders visibly relaxed. His staff stopped glowing and the hallway lights remained steady.

His voice was rough as he whispered, "I have to save them, Dick. It's my job."

I reached up and placed both hands on his shoulders, much like Bruce used to do to me when I was feeling lost. "We will. The League and the Titans will help."

"I'm counting on it."

We went back into the suite - because there really wasn't anywhere else for Harry to go except back home.

The others were subdued when we entered, except for Batman. He was the only one working stone-faced in front of a laptop. I inwardly sighed. Bruce had always kept his emotions bottled up when there was a crisis. Yes, it made him more efficient, but it also made him inhuman - a man driven only by his crusade against crime. It took Alfred, me, and the rest of the Batclan to remind him that he wasn't alone.

Still, I knew his failure at protecting Harry's secrets ate at him as much as all the remembered deaths he hadn't been able to prevent. I know how that felt, because he raised me to be the same.

"The bodies were found buried in a mass grave near the Sanderas Range." He declared, attention still riveted on the laptop. "But there are no known bases for the League of Assassins in the area."

"I could help with that." Harry spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Dresden?" Batman's tone was emotionless.

"Look," Harry sighed, "Uh, sorry for a while ago. It's partly my fault too; I shouldn't have blamed the whole thing on you."

For a moment, no one moved. I was suddenly reminded of the first time the Crays had been breached, when almost all the capes Batman had worked with shunned him. Even Superman voted him out. And this guy, this wizard, just did in five minutes what the rest of the League couldn't do for months: apologize to Batman. I wasn't expecting it...and neither did, I think, Bruce.

The moment stretched into a minute then Batman nodded. "Apology accepted."

And barely two seconds passed before his tone became business-like again. "What were you going to suggest?"

"What Troia said, about manticores and mythology going about it the wrong way," Harry walked in to take a seat by the armchair farthest from any electronics in the room, "I realized we don't know much about the things. So I did a little research."

"What did you find?" I asked.

"They're not manticores. They're _manticora, _from Persian myth."

Batman straightened. "Persian."

"That's what my assistant told me." Harry nodded. "They're like desert cats, only as hot as hell and they can manipulate light to make themselves invisible."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Invisible even to X-ray vision?"

Harry shrugged. "Since I can't give myself that ability or get near enough to an x-ray machine without it going boom, why don't you find out?"

"No need." Batman told both of them. He nodded towards Superman before turning back to the laptop. "The manticora's abilities come from magic; it's therefore, highly probable that your alien abilities cannot penetrate through its illusion."

"So we can't see 'em, but can we hear 'em?" Roy asked, leaning forward with elbows on his knees. His question was answered with a shrug.

"I'm working on something to help with that." Harry offered. "And my dog could see the manticora just fine."

"Yeah?"

"Mouse was the first one to attack even before I realized they were there. I could-"

Batman cut in. "No."

Harry blinked. "No, what?"

"You're not going with us."

I stared at Bruce in surprise. Why wouldn't he want Harry to come along? A wizard is a definite advantage when going up against magic. Did Bruce have something else planned for the wizard?

It turns out, I wasn't far off with the last thought - only, the reason why was a lot different from what I was expecting.

"Ra's has obviously believed your files and took steps to abduct several minor practicioners. We can't risk the chance that he'll be looking to abduct _you_." The last was aimed at Harry.

"So, what? You're putting me on house arrest?" The wizard shot back, his arms crossed. "Sorry, but this is still my job and I'm _still_ doing it."

"This is hardly the work of a private investigator-"

"So I'm off the clock on this one. But the last time I checked, I'm still being paid to find Alyanna Choi."

Bruce paused in his tirade at the reminder that there were kids being held as victims. Children had always been a sore spot for Bruce, and for good reason. We'd both lost our childhoods when our parents were killed too early in our lives. But while he'd never gotten to experience a loving hug or run around with reckless abandon again for more than a decade, he gave me a second chance at that love. I was both grateful to him and sad for him; for what he'd lost. What we'd _both _lost.

Children in danger always hardened our resolve to help families stay together. Speaking of which...

"I just remembered something," I spoke up, thinking back to the Seven Laws of Magic Harry had told me once, and the people who guard it. "You're a member of the White Council of wizards, right? And they have a secret police called Wardens?"

Harry visibly winced. "Did you _have_ to bring that up?"

"Sorry." I shrugged unapologetically. "But it helps to know if we can count on allies for backup."

The wince turned into a defeated stance. "I already called them last night. No backup."

"What?" I blinked at him. "But I thought part of their job is to keep the peace? With this number of missing Paranet members, why aren't they showing up now?"

Harry's face darkened as his right hand clenched tighter on his staff. I took it his left was still too stiff from extensive burning. "First priority of the Wardens is to protect the White Council. Outside of me, there are no card-carrying members of the White Council in the Paranet and therefore, aren't worth any attention."

The silence that greeted his statement was heavy. I really shouldn't be surprised Harry's bosses think little of those less powerful than they. How many times have I come across people who choose to ignore the little guy? Like the politicians who voted to abandon Gotham during No Man's Land. Or the wealthy executive who shoved a kid away from his spot on the evac chopper.

Sometimes, it felt like capes were the only ones who had any compassion left in the sea of humanity.

"So you're the only one in your colorless council helping these people?" Roy asked Harry in disgust. He was the one who told me about the executive and the kid. "What, the others don't like to get their hands dirty?"

The wizard grimaced and shook his head. "They've got their hands dirty enough. It's a long story and the whole thing is supposed to be a secret but basically? We're at war."

No other words could have jolted capes into sharp interest. We'd been exposed to enough fighting to imagine what war would be like...and some of us haveactually _been _participants in one or two wars. Cross-dimensional travels, interplanetary affairs; it doesn't have to necessarily involve our fellow countrymen to know that war is bloody, cruel, and devastating.

My gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of a commset. It beeped once before suddenly launching into a simple rendition of Fur Elise.

"Sorry." Harry muttered, backing away from everyone.

Roy's eyes were wide as he watched Batman lift the earpiece with an irritated look. "I didn't know it could do that."

"It must be a hidden talent." I told him deadpan, before I went to stand beside Batman who was quietly talking to whoever was on the other line.

"Hey, you think you can get it to play the Macarena?" Roy asked Harry. "It'd make for an _interesting_ Titans meeting."

From where I was standing, I could see Donna elbow Roy in the stomach. I was about to comment about our communicators being the same ones the JLA used when Batman ended the call. "What is it?"

"Oracle has tracked down the plane that left Tigris Airfield yesterday."

"That's where we were a few hours ago, right?" Roy piped up.

"The hangar was rented out to a Rayam A. Giaffar." Batman continued. "The last flight's destination was registered at another airfield near the Sanderas Ridge."

"That's where you found the bodies." I pointed out, feeling like I had a jigsaw puzzle falling into place.

Batman nodded, pulling out a world map on the laptop screen and pointed at an area to the northeast of Africa. "If the manticora are working with Ra's, then this region has a high probability of hiding a base for the League of Assassins. More so, it used to be part of Persia."


	10. Harry 5

Notes: My updates hasn't been regular lately because I'm in a mood. It's one of those 'what am I doing with my life' kind of moods, so please bear with me.

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><p>I jumped to my feet at Batman's declaration, ready for another bout with our kidnappers. "Where?"<p>

But the vigilante gave me a look that promptly shot down whatever macho hero instinct I had forming. "You aren't going."

"The hell I'm not." I glared at him. "Like I told you, this is my job and I'm finishing it."

"And if Ra's manages to capture you?"

"Then I'll deal with it. Won't be the first time." I shrugged but kept my glower. "And face it, you need me. There might be more of those manticora helping your guy. A pride of them numbers _at least_ twenty. Think you can handle that many without magic?"

The vigilante studied me for a second then, "Fine. Red Arrow?"

"Jet's idling by the rooftop. I called it while you two were having your spat." The red-haired cape said.

_Jet? _And all at once, my fears of flying in an overgrown metal bucket came rushing in. "Uhh, you guys go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Night- Dick (I had to remember to differentiate between vigilante identity and civilian identity; hell's bells the problems of working with superheroes.) raised an eyebrow at me. "What happened to all that talk of coming along?"

"It ran off the moment you said you were using a _flying_ death trap."

"Hey, the T-Jet's state-of-the-art tech!" Red Arrow said, affronted.

"That means it's not proof against a wizard of my type." I told him. "The fancier it gets, the faster it goes kablowie."

"How do you travel to other places?"

"Train. Or by car." I shrugged. "The last time I flew commercial the pilot had to delay the landing because of some technical difficulty." I didn't have to mention that it spooked me enough not to try that again. It was one thing to fly alone, and another to have hundreds of other passengers stuck inside a bucket with you. And then there're the security checks who kept hitting their blinking scanners in frustration whenever I came near.

"I see what you mean when you said you blow out fuses." Troia murmured.

"I could fly you..." Superman offered but Batman shook his head.

"You would be too vulnerable flying in the open air."

"How about a trip to Neverland?" Dick suggested but I shot that down.

"It's _Nevernever_, and it doesn't exactly have a map. I could enter it here, walk a couple of meters, and end up in London for all I know."

"So how were you planning to follow us?" Red Arrow challenged.

"Uh..." Let it be said that bravado in the face of superheroes has a high chance of being popped like a balloon in the next couple of minutes.

Dick came over to pat me on the shoulder. "We'll think of something."

"Yeah, something," I agreed sourly. While it may be true that being a wizard has its perks, most of the time, it's the quirks that leave much to be desired. Having magic adds a lot to my investigative style; and it takes away a lot too. For one, what is this thing you call the Internet? I'm apparently missing out on the biggest party in the world or my worst personal hell. It makes me glad I've got my own lewd version of a computer in Bob.

"So how long is the flight going to be?" I asked no one in particular.

"A couple of hours at the most," Red Arrow answered. "T-Jet's built to be fast."

I made a few power calculations in my head. Normally, a wizard leaks a bit of magic every minute, like people shed dead skin cells. And just like you can trace a person's DNA by getting a hold of these cells, paranormal entities can track down a wizard by the scent of this leaking magic. I knew a spell that would let me put a stopper into the leak for an hour or two; I did it for a talk show once. The spell was more or less successful - but it tended to fray my nerves.

"Alright," I announced to the vigilantes around me, "I can put up a temporary barrier around my magic so I don't blow your flying bucket. But it's only temporary and I can't hold it up long. So," I aimed a pointed look at Dick, who I presumed would do the piloting, "no making me nervous or the bucket will go kablowie."

"Hey, no worries," Red Arrow dropped an arm around Dick's shoulders. "Bats there won't let Wingster do any high-flying, that's for sure."

"There better not be." I grumbled. "I haven't been able to brew more slow-fall potions lately." I pretended not to notice the curious gazes they gave me as I turned around. It wasn't the first time Batman hired me to fashion a magical trinket or two for protection. He hasn't yet asked me to brew potions for him - for which I'm half-glad since I was running low on potion ingredients. Where or how I'll get more depleted uranium I have no idea. So I brought out my chalk and gathered my will.

The spell didn't take long and before half an hour had passed, we were all gathered in the T-Jet. It was big, with a sleek build and a shiny black finish that I'd bet mechanics would shit themselves to see. The door slid open with a silent _whoosh_; Nightwing and Troia entered first, followed by Superman, Red Arrow and me. I'd just taken a step in when a beep sounded from somewhere to my left.

I immediately backed from the entrance, almost running into Batman. "Sorry."

The vigilante gave me an annoyed glare and trudged past me into the jet. He went straight to a small screen on the left and punched in a few buttons. "Get in."

"I didn't break that, did I?" I asked him, taking a tentative step. When no other beeps sounded, I walked inside.

"I've calibrated the Jet's security to recognize you." He said, before turning on his heel and walking for the cockpit.

" 'Security'?" I repeated, incredulously. "You mean I could've jumped in and been hit by a laser?"

Batman paused to call over his shoulder, "Of course not. An internal laser would risk damaging the jet itself. You would be gassed instead." Then he continued on his way.

"Hell's bells! What did I tell you about not making the wizard nervous?"

This time, Batman didn't bother with a comeback. I took a deep breath and mentally checked on my spell.

It felt like being stuck inside a bubble. I could still hear and see everything, but I had a pillowcase over my head so what comes through was less intense, less clear. I figured it was because I'd kept my magic 'feelers' to myself and so couldn't feel the juju that surrounds everything. And if I reached out, I'd break my bubble. It was a strain, keeping this bubble. It felt the same as when I'd been running on zero sleep for three days straight, and my attention was about the same.

"Are you alright?" Troia asked me from the doorway where Batman had disappeared. Since that was where everyone went, I can only assume that way led to the cockpit. "You look a little pale."

"Fine," I grumbled, deciding not to elaborate on that. I had the idea that the Amazon was a mothering type - she kept looking at my scrawny self in concern - and I'd always been uncomfortable with involving strangers into my world, especially capes. These people stood by a code that involved more than upholding the law; they were world renowned heroes. _Kids _look up to these people. And me? I've stolen things, beat up people...I've _killed._ I'm the kind of person heroes shouldn't be on friendly terms with; much less be trusted with. In my world, there are monsters who'd love to break a hero like these people.

"Come on, then," Troia's voice brought me out of my dark thoughts. She smiled and tilted her head towards the cockpit. "Everyone's waiting."

I nodded and followed her, passing sleek walls of metal and whatever doohickeys are built in them. Thankfully, none of them sparked when I went through.

The space I entered was at the same time large and cramped. I had room to stand at my full height, but everywhere I looked something beeped or blinked. There were six seats in the middle and none of them were far enough away from any machinery that might go boom. All at once, I could feel my heartbeat speed up at the proximity of all the beeping things.

"You can take the seat at the back and to your left." Batman ordered without turning around. He and Nightwing were at the front - I took that to mean they were pilot and co-pilot. A glance around revealed I was the only one standing so I guess he meant me.

"Uhh, while I may have a spell to keep my magic on lockdown," I said, not moving to take the seat, "it's not the strongest. I still might make your computers smoke like there's no tomorrow."

"That section holds the autopilot." The vigilante explained. "Nightwing and I can fly the jet together or by ourselves. We can risk disengaging the autopilot."

"Uh..."

"Don't worry, Harry," Nightwing gave me a grin over his shoulder. "Between me and Batman, we've got enough experience to fly almost any ship. Even alien ones." He said the last with a laugh, and I guess that was supposed to make me feel better but it only hammered home the fact that what the capes face every day was a lot different than mine.

I took the seat gingerly, telling myself that while capes can take the high ground, I take the _inter-dimensional _route. Thank goodness for the Nevernever - even though most of the time it keeps spewing out the monsters that went after my ass. Still, taking just fifteen minutes to get from Chicago to Scotland beats a travel time of more than seven hours.

"So, Bats says you're a professional wizard," Red Arrow turned in his seat to face me, elbows on his knees, "The _only_ professional wizard in Chicago."

"That's what the phonebook says." I answered.

"You advertise in the phonebook?" Superman similarly turned, his voice surprised. "I had the idea wizards were secretive."

"That would be most of the old-timers. Nowadays..." I shrugged, "I had to make a living. Being a wizard's the only thing I'm good at."

"How long have you been a wizard?"

"My magic manifested when I was eleven. Another wizard adopted me and started training me since then."

Superman's eyebrow rose in surprise. "You were adopted?"

"My mom died when I was born. My dad followed six years later." I gave him a look that didn't once meet his eyes. "I thought all this personal stuff was supposed to be in Batman's files?"

"They are." The vigilante in question growled in annoyance. "Not everyone bothers to read through them regularly."

"Meeting Harry _was _rather abrupt." Superman conceded with an apologetic smile. "And I was curious."

"You and me both, Supes." Red Arrow agreed.

"So Harry, what's it like being a wizard investigator?" Superman asked.

"It's like being an investigator, only I've got a unique style of finding things, people," I made a vague gesture then realized what I was doing and aimed a suspicious look back at the World's Mightiest Mortal. "Hell's bells, you're a reporter, aren't you?"

Immediately, my interviewer became guarded. "What makes you say that?"

"No one can be that nosy over the age of ten, unless you're a reporter."

A corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "Nosy?"

"Hey, my ex-girlfriend's a journalist. I had to learn how to dodge questions the hard way."

"He's got you there, Supes." Nightwing called back.

"Alright, I'll lay off on the questions," Superman laughed. I decided that I liked that laugh. It was booming and heartfelt, and contagious. Something around my chest eased and I felt myself relaxing a bit.

And the panel to my left gave off a spark.

"Sorry," I mumbled, trying to scoot away and to my surprise, my chair _moved with me_. "Hell's bells!"

"Mobile seating," Red Arrow said, laughing, "Helps when you've got a lot of civilians and don't know where to put them."

"You could've warned a guy." I grumbled, moving my seat back in its original position.

The rest of the trip was spent in mostly silence and relative peace for me as well as the jet; allowing me to drop into a somewhat meditative state to maintain the spell. I could hear the others talking in lower voices but didn't bother listening in; they must have heeded my warning and did their best not to disturb me. It was a wonderful couple of hours' worth of bliss, broken only when Batman announced, "We're almost there."


	11. Dick 6

Notes: In which I mess around a little with magic.

DarthZ and GiovanniBlasini: Man, what is it with all my reviewers and giving me all these ideas for a new fic? Lolz it's like you're planting carrot seeds for them plot bunnies to nibble on. But I'm currently out-of-sync with the Dresden-verse so a sequel to this crossover will be long in coming. Thanks for all the ideas though :)

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><p>I was reminded yet again of Harry's sensitivity to his surroundings when he stopped by the jet's hatch and glanced around. We had landed near the edge of a large forest, facing a clearing at the foot of a mountain. To our right and dotted with gradually diminishing bushes, lay the beginnings of a large desert.<p>

"That's..." Harry said as he disembarked from the jet, "That's some serious mojo."

"Where?" I asked.

"Somewhere there." He made a vague gesture towards the desert. His shoulders were relaxed now, so I took it that he'd released his inhibiting spell.

"Where there?" Roy started folding out his compound bow, similarly scanning the desert.

"There out there." Harry shrugged. "I can't pinpoint where it is without using my Sight, but I can tell you it's...really powerful juju."

"Ra's hidden base must be in the area." Batman said, turning to face Superman as he instructed, "See if you can fly around _discreetly._"

"Wait." We all turned to Harry as he pulled out a small jar from his duster's pocket. "Freshly brewed _Glamour-B-Gone _salve." He held out the clear jar containing a dark, goopy paste. "Smear this around your eyes. It should cut through the manticora's veil and make them visible. Get it while it's still hot."

"War paint?" Roy was the first to take the jar, ducking his head and stripping off his domino mask. "Has to be skin contact, right? I know my mug ain't that famous but how will Bats and Wingster-"

I ripped away my mask and held out a hand for the jar while hiding a smirk as Roy stared at me in disbelief.

"He...you...you told him who you are?"

"I didn't." I replied, smearing the brown-black salve around my eyes. It didn't smell rotten, but it wasn't completely fragrant either. "_Batman_ told Harry."

"Hu-_why_?"

"It was a matter of convenience." Bruce growled, taking the jar from my hands and pulling down his cowl at the same time. With two swipes of his hands, he'd put the salve on his eyes and brought his cowl back on in less than a second. I took his cue and stuck my mask back.

"Bunch of raccoons we make." Roy teased behind me as I glanced at everyone in turn. It was the first time I saw Clark put on warpaint; a good thing too, since the dark lines around his eyes reminded me of his wire-rimmed glasses. A good observer familiar with both the hero and the reporter personas could say that warpainted Superman closely resembles timid Clark Kent. Then Supes smiled, making that resemblance even more remarkable.

"Okay, Supes," I said with a sigh, "you might want to tone down the guy-next-door persona a bit."

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is it that obvious?"

"With the salve? Yes."

"Oh."

"You don't look too bad yourself, babe." Roy was telling Donna and I had to agree with him. The mask-like outline around her eyes gave the Amazon a sense of mystery and matched well with her black outfit. "Maybe we ought to add a mask to your uniform."

"I'd rather not have my eyes covered by a mask," she said lightly but her grin was pleased at the compliment.

"Fashion choices aside," Batman interrupted. "We have things to do." His cowl effectively hid the salve around his eyes as he stared pointedly at Superman.

"Be back in a minute," was all Big Blue said before zooming off into the sky with a lot less boom than he usually has. Superman, despite his striking red and blue uniform and his large build, could be quiet when he wants to be. It helps when you have super-hearing and can listen to every fabric rustle you make. But Big Blue was too nice a person, so he almost never sneaks up on his friends - not that he could sneak up on me or the other Bats. We've had years to get used to the ultimate ninja of the Justice League: Batman.

At the promised minute, Clark came gliding back with a strange look on his face. "You were right. There's a large compound about two miles away."

"And?" Batman growled.

"And..." The look became confused as Clark tried to puzzle out his thoughts. "...And I was supposed to investigate something, wasn't I?"

"The compound." Bruce repeated with a frown. In all the years I'd known him, I'd never seen Clark look so confused by a recon task. That is, unless some sort of mind-control was involved.

"Right! The compound." Clark shook his head, raising a hand to rub his forehead. Batman and I shared a look: mind-control was definitely at work here. "I-I couldn't get close."

" 'Couldn't?'" Bruce's frown deepened.

Clark nodded. "One minute I was a few meters away and the next, I was flying back here."

Harry stepped up. "When you were near, did you feel anything? Like something compelling you to leave the place?"

That drew a puzzled but amused look from Clark. "Like Obi Wan?"

"Something like a 'there's nothing to see here, move along' vibe."

Clark's face turned thoughtful. "I...did feel something..." His face cleared, "...Like I had to get out of there quickly."

"Not quickly enough for you to use your superspeed." I pointed out because if Clark had to leave in a hurry, he'd usually rival a speedster with his haste.

"It's still nasty," Harry commented, "I could feel it from this far out." He sighed and straightened his shoulders as though he was readying himself for a fight. "Alright. My assistant said the manticorahad to be led by an outsider - usually a wizard." He turned to Batman. "I'm guessing it must be your Ra's guy."

"No." Batman growled. "Ra's al Ghul has never had any inherent magic."

"He's just lived a long life." I added, thinking back on the many struggles I had with the eco-terrorist. Batman and I had foiled several of his magic rituals - none of which had him as the source of magic. In all the rituals I'd seen him involved in, Ra's had always either gotten hold of a magic artifact, threatened or bribed or forced someone into performing the ritual for him, or used technology as a substitute for power. "One thing for sure, Ra's may be long-lived but he was never a mage."

"But...then how..." Harry frowned in confusion. "Something isn't adding up. You had to have _some_ sort of power for a pride of manticorato follow you. Charisma doesn't cut it for these cats."

"I didn't see any of the manticoraaround." Clark offered. "But I thought I saw one or two groups of patrolling guards before I hit the...the compulsion."

Harry frowned and crossed his arms. "It doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't you set _invisible _guards if you had them?"

"You wouldn't have to if you had powerful, _invisible _warding set up." I suggested. "Then you could use the manticorato guard over other places, like the airfield where you keep your victims."

"Why not have both the ward and the guards?" Troia asked, curious.

Harry shook his head. "Can't. Manticora are sensitive to iron like your usual fae."

"So it's a choice of having cats or having people?" Roy asked. "If you ask me, the cats'd be a better option. Curious eyes won't see them."

"Then why stick with humans?" I asked out loud, catching Bruce's eye as I did. And with just one look, I could see we both came to the same conclusion as Harry, I suppose by his next words, did.

"Then your Ra's guy has got to have a wizard working for him," Harry declared. "Someone he doesn't quite trust if he's got people to guard the door."

"No," Batman growled, his arms dropped to his sides so his cape once again covered his entire body, "this isn't Ra's style. The League of Assassins is loyal and disciplined. Ra's wouldn't need to ward off civilians because his assassins would take care of them quickly. And the trail we've been following is too straightforward."

"From the apartment Harry searched to the airfield to this place," I agreed. Ra's was always testing Bruce, challenging him to prevail against whatever scheme the guy comes up with. "But this isn't one of his cleanse-the-world plans; just him looking to add more years to his lifespan."

"Dresden," Batman turned to Harry. "You mentioned these practicioners don't have enough magic to qualify for a wizard's lifespan."

Harry nodded. "In comparison to the White Council, these folks are like one-trick ponies. I know one or two who can predict the future, but only in the vaguest sense their predictions are useless. There are some who can set up basic wards, but nothing in the scope of what a wizard can pull off."

"If Ra's planned to revive the Lazarus Pit using innate magic, then he will need-"

"A wizard, yeah."

Batman growled, "It's a trap."


	12. Harry 6

DarthZ: Yes, the Bat-paranoia is both a gift and a curse. *nods sagely* Lolz

* * *

><p>I could have told Batman that. "Of course, it's a trap. Any wizard worth his robe could track a trail that obvious."<p>

"Then why in hell did we follow it like horses on a lead line?" Red Arrow demanded.

"Because it's the only way I know to get to Alyanna and the rest of the kidnapped practicioners." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. My head was beginning to throb from the magic I could feel far off. Magic comes from life itself, and whatever this Ra's guy has got brewing in his castle, it's tainted that magic with death and it's an ugly black smear on a white slate. "I can't track them and you can't trace them. Following's the best way to find the perpetrator. And once we find him, we find the rest of the kidnappees."

"It's also the easiest way to get caught." Superman interjected.

Harry glared. "It's risky, but I'm not going to sit on my hands while your guy drains more innocent people."

"That's not a risk I'm willing to take lightly." Batman snarled then turned to Nightwing. "You three, take Dresden and search for an entrance. Superman and I will look for another way in."

"So we get to be the decoys while you hit them in the back?" I grumbled.

"The manticora you fought yesterday may remember the Titans being with you. There's a lesser chance of Ra's knowing Superman and I have gotten involved."

"But it's your computer he hacked." I shot back. "Wouldn't he be expecting some retaliation coming from you?"

Batman gave me a tight smile. "The Justice League is currently busy with a fight against Felix Faust. He'll think that I sent the Titans in my stead. And," he turned away, tossing his last words over his shoulder, "you're too noisy."

I opened my mouth to protest when I realized I was about to do what Batman accused me of. Hell's bells, I knew I was diplomatically challenged but I didn't need to have a vigilante say it to my face. So I grumbled to myself and faced the Titans. "Alright, are we doing this the sneaky way or the hard way?"

"The sneaky way, of course," Nightwing started walking in the direction of the desert. "The hard way can get us all killed."

"My favorite." I muttered, not at all eagerly. I've had my share of complicated plans that go around the goal but I usually prefer to take the easier route of smash in, save the innocent, run back out. Less thinking required. "So what's the plan?"

Nightwing shot me a grin over his shoulder. "We'll see when we get there."

And we got there, eventually. After a long, long walk under a desert sun let me tell you, leather dusters don't cut it. I was tired, overheated, and drenched in sweat. My skin felt like my left hand did before the nerves died: burnt. And it didn't look like we would reach the place anytime soon. The three capes were faring better beside me - with Troia casting concerned glances back to me from time to time.

"Maybe you should take off your coat," she suggested, pausing in her hike to fully turn to me. She reached out a hand as if to take my duster but I shook my head.

"No thanks," I told her, "you guys got your armor and I got mine."

"You sure it's for protection and not just for looking badass?" Red Arrow remarked with a grin.

"Spell-protected leather duster," I explained with a grumble, "Can stop a speeding bullet like your Superman."

Red Arrow whistled in awe.

"But not bullets of the same caliber as tank-piercers, right?" Nightwing pointed out while urging everyone to keep hiking. "It's in Batman's files too." He explained when I threw him a questioning look.

I shook my head and cast my eyes upwards - oops, bad idea. Eyes down before the sun fries my vision too. "Alright. What _isn't_ in Batman's files?"

"What Ra's is planning, for one thing."

"Or the manticora." Troia added.

"Or the tattoo on Wingster's ass."

I whipped my head to look at Nightwing for that - the sputtering vigilante was currently sporting a faint tinge to his cheeks while scowling at a grinning Red Arrow - and I blinked in surprise that it could be true because as far as I know tall, dark and creepy never allows in his kids any teenage rebelliousness.

"Stars and stones, kid," I muttered in awe, "did you really...?"

"Of course not!" Nightwing's face turned redder. "Red Arrow was just kidding."

"Nightwing wouldn't have a tattoo placed on his ass." Troia came to his defense, her eyes shining.

"And how would _you _know?" Red Arrow teased her.

"Oh, stop it." She admonished him with an elbow to his arm. "Batman wouldn't let Nightwing get any unexplainable marks on his skin."

"Yeah," Red Arrow chimed in, "it could seriously compromise the secret identity and all. Not like it helped if he reveals the secret to whomever."

"_Harry _can be trusted..."

The three vigilantes exchanged more banter but I wasn't paying attention anymore. I'd been feeling bad magic ever since I stepped out of the jet. It grew stronger the longer I walked and I guess that meant we were nearing the building Superman was talking about. Usually I could ignore that slimy feel of the taint...but not when it powered a strong ward-off spell.

It started with one image: that of Carmichael's torn body lying in the middle of the police station and cradled by a weeping Murphy. I know I didn't care much for her partner but the devastation on Murphy's face still tore me to pieces even years later. Then there was Kim, my former apprentice who died because I withheld information from her. Then Shiro, the Knight who literally traded his life for mine. Years of private investigating added up to a lot of bad images; from the bloody deaths of strangers in a crime scene to the broken bodies of friends, acquaintances. And from there it moved on to the deaths I'd caused, like the eleven innocents who died in the fire when I burned down Bianca's party in a fit of rage.

Death surrounded me; so many lives cut off from reaching their full potential. And I was drowning in it.

"Harry?"

It took me a while to realize that wasn't one of the specters in my head; that the images came from my worse memories and was only brought up by the magic surrounding the place we were heading to.

Troia's hand was cool even through the sleeve of my duster. "Harry, are you alright?"

I shivered and pulled my mind away from the phantoms in my head. "It's the ward," I explained with a wince, "It's like a bad record player stuck on a loop of my worst memories."

"Can you handle it?" Nightwing asked me.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, imagining the ward's sinister feel sliding off me like water. The despair lessened - not entirely, but enough that I could hear my thoughts again without specters showing up. I nodded at the capes who had stopped to look at me in concern. "I'm alright. It's nasty, but I could take it."

"Good," Nightwing gave me a nod in return, "I know how bad memories can be and," he clapped me with one hand on my shoulder. "I'd hate not having you around when things get ugly."

"I'd hate to be left behind too," I muttered.

"Just don't hesitate to tell us if it gets to you again," Troia told me gently. "We need you able to fight if things go wrong."

"And not hallucinate on us." Red Arrow said with a grin.

"Trust me, if I get any nuttier than a fruitcake, you'll know." I grumbled.

One problem solved, it didn't take long before I had two problems facing me. We barely had the compound Superman mentioned in our sights when Nightwing, Troia, and Red Arrow took a step forward, and then the latter two abruptly turned around and headed back to the jet.

"Hell's bells," I scrambled after them, holding out my staff crosswise to stop them from two steps further. "Alright, that's as far as you go. No abandoning the wizard to make a lone suicidal run."

Nightwing came striding back. "Harry? What's going on?"

"The spell." I answered, snagging both Red Arrow's and Troia's arms before they slipped past me. "Do me a favor and hold these two for me."

Nightwing nodded and clapped a hand to the other capes' shoulders. He shot me a puzzled look though as I brought up my staff to draw a circle around us. I scraped my gums with a fingernail to draw a bit of blood and crouched to touch the sand circle. The barrier snapped up and both compelled capes immediately jerked to attention.

"What...What happened?" Troia asked, raising a hand to rub at her forehead.

"The compulsion happened," I explained, rising to my feet. "I'm guessing we're at the part where Superman stopped and went flying back."

"Why wasn't I affected?" Nightwing asked me.

I glanced down to his wrist, where a year or so ago, I clipped on an enchanted bracelet - the trinket his father paid for. "The spell I cast as protection against mental invasion. It should have dissolved after a couple of weeks..." I glanced up to meet Nightwing's eyes. "You haven't taken off the bracelet?"

He shrugged. "I've added a couple of things to it. My gloves and boots get taken enough I decided it'd help if I had a little extra fixit in case of trouble."

A spent a moment or two staring at him while my mind did several calculations. Magic came from life and faith. Night- _Dick _had faith in me, in the bracelet I'd made him. That faith multiplied by how many days, weeks, months that he'd been continuously wearing the trinket; all bolstering the simple spells I'd placed earlier. That faith was not only humbling to me - a man labeled as a loony at best - but it had also made those enchantments permanent. It didn't even matter if the hair I'd tied to it had gotten lost. If Dick constantly believed the trinket would do as I made it, the spells would latch onto that belief and use it to power themselves.

"Stars and stones," I grinned at him, "I made a force bracelet. And it has a protection spell on it too."

"So you're the one who gave that to Wingster?" Red Arrow teased with a not-so-subtle nudge to the blue-black clad vigilante. "Isn't he a little old for you, 'Wing?"

"It's a paid commission!" I complained while Dick glared at him. "And I don't swing that way." Really, how many times do I have to say that to people I meet?

"I'd hate to break up the love-fest," Troia cut in, "but I just saw someone come out of the building."


	13. Dick 7

Notes: In which, it's Harry's turn to run his mouth and there is a lead up to the end.

DarthZ: Roy ain't the only one, of course ;)

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><p>I was whipping out my binocs even before Donna finished speaking. I'd spotted the fleeting movement out of the corner of my eye, but she'd probably gotten a full glance considering she was facing the building while I bickered with Roy.<p>

"I only see one," I told the others, methodically sweeping around the building and coming up with nothing but blank walls and sand. "Think it's a lone guard out doing patrols?"

"Could be worse." Roy muttered beside me. "It could be two guards and one of them is hiding."

I turned to Harry, knowing that one of the wizard's skills was Listening. "What do you hear?"

The wizard shut his eyes, his tired face frowning in concentration. It only occurred to me then, how weary Harry must be. I remembered him saying that the salve he made was freshly brewed, meaning he had to have made it sometime after we dropped him off at his apartment. How long did he sleep last night?

A second passed, maybe two, then Harry's eyes opened and he shook his head, waving towards the lone guard by the compound. "Nothing here but us and Mr. Bait over there."

Roy sighed in resignation. "So we spring the trap?"

I nodded. "We've got no other option."

"Wait," the wizard called out, "We need to take care of the whammy first. I'll need a couple strands of your hair."

I watched as Harry repeated the protection spell he did for me months ago, twining the hair strands from Donna and Roy with loose threads from his shirt. He quickly tied the threads to their wrists; Donna tucking hers inside the silver bracers she wore. I was glad for the silver chain on my own wrist - it wasn't as flimsy as the makeshift wards Harry'd just made.

"Which way do we go first?" Roy grunted, testing the string on his bow. Harry had just finished tying the thread to his wrist and the wizard was now breaking the circle he'd drawn with a scuff of his combat boots. Then they all turned to me, telling me in no words that it was my call and they'd follow me to hell if need be.

I still hoped that I'd never lead my friends - my _family _- to that.

"The ward can't physically keep people out, can it?" I glanced at Harry who shook his head in agreement.

"It's mostly bad feelings and tainted mojo," the wizard clarified, "Anyone who gets close enough just get the urge to walk away."

I nodded. "And thanks to your protections, we can just waltz straight to the compound wall, right?"

"Got it in one, little Sparrow."

I winced. "Lame, Harry. Lame."

"Yeah," Roy butted in, "Just call him Robbie. Or Rob."

"_Anyway,_" I interrupted them before the two of them could start trading bird names. "I'd say we take the guard, get him to let us in, and somehow bring down the bad aura so Batman and Superman can get in too."

"Sounds straightforward." Harry nodded. "How do you plan to do it?"

"One step at a time." I turned to Donna. "Troia? You up for some fishing?"

Her blue eyes sparkled with mirth, "Of course I am. But won't there be any cameras around?"

"With that mojo around?" Harry waved a hand to indicate the air surrounding the compound, "I'm surprised as hell their _computers_ are still functioning!"

We moved closer to the compound. The barrier was a creeping sensation on my spine that turned into chills the closer we went. It was strong enough I had to suppress a shudder; and if I was feeling the warding this much, I'd hate to feel what Harry was going through. We hid behind a sand dune overlooking the compound and Roy drew out an arrow.

The lone guard was walking away from us in a crisp stride, the automatic rifle by his side clearly seen even with the distance.

Harry grunted in surprise beside me. "Automatics?" He muttered, "Those things should've jammed like a cheap imitation every time they fired. Automatics are next to useless when exposed to magic."

I had to blink at that. Ra's always had people on guard duty, no matter how sophisticated his system is. He's lived long enough not to completely trust in computers; or as Harry believed, the more years you add to your life, the more you get used to the 'old ways.' But Ra's isn't stupid enough to assign just one guard and arm him with a useless weapon. Aversion barriers aside, letting one person outside of the compound isn't being cautious - it's being careless. Not unless there was more to this 'guard duty' than what we could see. "You're right," I told Harry, "something's definitely fishy here."

"In this place?" He grumbled. "More cacti than fish."

"Then let's pull out a thorn and see what we get." Donna said and leaped into the air. She made sure to fly towards the compound at an angle that won't let her shadow fall into the guard's path. When she was near enough, she grabbed the lasso at her waist, tying a quick loop around one end before swinging it overhead. The guard was almost to the end of his round when Donna let fly. He barely had a chance to struggle before he was up in the air.

"She's got him." I grinned and rushed to meet Donna halfway, Harry and Roy following. The guard was visibly nervous as Donna dropped him in front of me where he fell on his rump.

"Sorry about the rough handling," I told him, "but we just want a couple of things from you."

"W-what?" The guard stammered.

"Side door to your base, for one thing," Roy held an arrow to his bow, making sure the man could see it. "And where you're keeping the people you'd kidnapped."

"I-I can't t-tell you! Master would f-flay me!"

Instead of grabbing him and giving him a good shake, I simply crouched down to meet his eyes and grinned. "Oh, but you don't have to tell us. You can just _show _us instead."

The man gulped but did as he was told. He stumbled back towards the compound with us behind him every step of the way. I had to admit, this wasn't my best plan for sneaking into one of Ra's home bases but I was pressed for time and worried about Harry. The wizard didn't look like he was having a good time dealing with the persistent compulsion the magical aura was giving him - _us,_ I added a moment later when I distinctly felt like someone had tossed a bucket of cold water on me.

"That was _nasty_," Roy muttered to my left, shivering.

To my right, Harry had gritted his teeth, his dark eyes filled with pain - mental ones, judging by the spaced out look in his pupils. I grabbed his shoulder and gave him a little shake to ground him, tell him that we were still here.

"You okay?" I mouthed to him as soon as his eyes registered me.

The wizard gave back a wordless nod and strode forward to shove the guard against the compound's wall. Before any of us could move, he'd thrust his staff against the guard's throat, making the man squeak at the pressure on his air.

"It's one thing to lead us by the nose with an act," Harry snarled into the guard's face, "and something else to do it with a magic-suppressing spell. You're not a guard, are you?"

"Indeed," the smooth, oily voice was familiar, in the same way a bad nightmare was familiar. "Though I have to wonder why you would accost one of my better assistants."

I turned around carefully; Roy and Donna following suit beside me. Ra's was wearing one of his usual pompous robes and was surrounded by armed lackeys. There were few times when the guy could sneak up on us and I guess this was one of them.

"Ra's." I said, mostly to introduce him to Harry.

"Nightwing," The eco-terrorist acknowledged, "and two of your Titan friends." His gaze shifted to Harry. "And who's this?"

"The guy who currently envies your air-conditioning," Harry replied deadpan.

A corner of Ra's eye twitched in annoyance before he turned back to me. "Your taste in _friends _leaves much to be desired, circus child."

"Yes, we're all going to join the circus," Harry added, "we've got an aerialist," he gestured to me, "a knife-thrower," he waved at Roy, "a strong-woman," he indicated Donna, "and that makes me the magician. If you're looking to be the ringleader you'll need a hat."

Ra's raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Another homo-magi? The League must be desperate to fill their ranks of sorcerers."

"We're here for the practicioners you'd kidnapped," I cut in, stepping in front of Harry. I didn't want Ra's to know exactly what Harry is - at least, not yet.

"Practicioners." Ra's repeated, tilting his head towards his bigger lackey, "Ubu, do we have any reason to take civilians by force?"

"No, Master," the large minion answered.

"And there you have it," Ra's smiled, sweeping his hands out and holding them away from his body as though inviting us to inspect him. "I currently have no scheme in play that would rid the world of its corruption and therefore, have no need to..._procure _any kind of fodder."

"Saying it like that," Harry said, wincing, "is just several kinds of wrong."

"We're not playing games, Ra's," I said in warning. The eco-terrorist was arrogant as hell and loved to be all vague and mysterious. It gets to be annoying after the first dozen or so.

"Neither am I." The eco-terrorist made a quick motion with his hand and armed ninjas suddenly started pouring out of the compound. "Perhaps we can have this conversation inside, so your _magician friend _can thoroughly enjoy my...air cooling system."

We all filed before Ra's and his escort, with Harry giving snarky remarks all the way. I wasn't paying attention to him though. I was too busy analyzing Ra's last statement. When the eco-terrorist said 'magician friend', his tone implied disgust, like the one he reserved for metahumans and aliens. Ra's and Bruce shared a similar aversion against non-humans - and it extended to the homo-magis like Zatanna. But as far as I knew, Ra's had never encountered a wizard like Harry. And when he referred to Harry as a homo-magi, it didn't seem like he distinguished between Zatanna and Harry. This wasn't adding up.

If Ra's was the one who had hacked the Crays, he would have known that Harry is a wizard, and that Harry was capable of hurling magic spells even without moving a muscle. Zatanna and her father were always limited by their speaking out. A simple spell of silence or a gag and they would be effectively restrained. But Harry could focus and blast away mundane restraints without speaking or even moving. This difference between wizards and homo-magi was detailed in the Crays. Ra's should have made the distinction. And he should have made mention that he knew who Harry is. Ra's was the type to flaunt his knowledge of other people.

Bruce had often given me sample cases to improve my deductive reasoning over the years. Given the puzzle pieces that I currently had, I could only conclude that Ra's wasn't the one who actually hacked the Crays but was rather being framed for it. But for what? And who was the one who did the hacking?

Then I spotted the more than a dozen tawny bundles of fur gathering at the end of the corridor, claws unsheathed and fangs bared, and I knew I was about to find out.


	14. Harry 7

DarthZ: Yep, sometimes people forget Dick's been trained by the World's Greatest Detective; or that an investigation should also take into account what you know of the other person rather than just physical evidence.

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><p>It takes approximately one second for all hell to break lose.<p>

I'd stopped in my tracks as soon as I saw the manticora - being taller than the two capes in front of me still gave me an unobstructed view of the front - and everyone else followed in the single second it took to register that I stopped moving. Before the megalomaniac behind us could move on to the next second to decide what to do with my stubborn ass, I'd already activated my shield bracelet and was moving to the front lines.

At the same time the manticoras - manticorae? Manticori? That stupid Latin correspondence course was still lacking in plurals - launched themselves at us. The first two or three bounced off my shield without me backsliding on the smooth linoleum. I couldn't stay the same for the rest of the half dozen or so piling on top of me. Each lunge had me slipping backwards, crowding into the capes behind me; only for a moment.

Then Nightwing and Troia came surging past me - the Amazon plowing through the cats like a wrecking ball while Nightwing kept them from getting close with kicks and blurring motions of his sticks. Red Arrow had brought out his bow and was shooting arrows by the dozen. The cats yowled as the arrows exploded on impact, sending several to the ground.

"You said these things aren't their real bodies," Red Arrow asked me with a smirk. "Blowing up their cat jars ain't the same as killing them, right?"

"It's not killing!" I called back, gathering my will and thrusting my staff forward with a shout, "_Forzare_!"

The manticora nearest Nightwing was flung away, quickly replaced by another - which was abruptly shot by someone behind me. I glanced back, and found that the guards had surrounded the space between us and Ra's, half their rifles aimed at the cats while the other half were trained on us.

"Desert cats, Nightwing?" the megalomaniac's voice was imperious. "Have your enemies infiltrated my organization to fight you?"

"Looks that way, doesn't it?" Nightwing shot back, busy smashing his sticks into the face of another cat. "Guess your little league isn't as foolproof as you thought."

"Pests." He spat out, giving a nod to his guards.

And gunfire erupted around us. Red Arrow and I were the closest targets and in the couple of seconds it took to spin my shield behind us, I felt the handful of slugs batter me in the back. My duster kept the bullets from piercing my flesh but I couldn't say the same for Red Arrow.

"Goddammit!" The archer cursed, falling back into the wall just as I finally got my shield back up. He was clutching his side where a bullet had streaked past, blood running in thin streams around his fingers. There was more blood flowing from another hole on his upper arm. Still, Red Arrow glared at the megalomaniac. "Shoot the cats, not us, you idiots!"

"In this instance," Ra's retorted in the same haughty voice, "you are all interlopers. Keep shooting." The last was aimed for his men.

"Ra's!" Nightwing's roar joined that of the cats' own pained shrieks. I realized that without support, he and Troia couldn't hold back the tide of attacking cats - but there was nothing to be done. I had to keep up the shield or both Red Arrow and I would be more hole-y than a block of Swiss cheese.

Then came the moment I've been waiting for: the automatic rifles began making sounds - _clicking _sounds that indicated multiple jammed guns.

I dropped the shield and released my will with a shout, "_Vento vente ventas servitas!_"

The powerful winds that tore through the corridor where Ra's and his guards stood in barely held enough force to be labeled as a Category Five Typhoon, but it did its work by bowling them over like a bunch of dominoes. Mundane army done, I whirled around to do the same to the side with the manticora-

"Troia!" I screamed, gathering my anger at having Red Arrow injured and my frustration at Ra's double crossing, "Move!"

The Amazon twisted in mid-air and flew to one side, deftly evading one cat's swiping claws. This time, my blasting rod was out and I yelled, "_Fuego!_"

Being better known as desert cats, one would think the manticora would be invincible to an inferno. But in truth, a high tolerance for heat doesn't mean indestructible. High temperature beings or not, the manticora were still supernatural constructs; they had bodies that were still vulnerable to the physical manifestation of energies like fire. So in other words, they still _burn_.

The corridor was soon filled with shrieks of pain, the scent of burnt fur and collapsing bodies. Troia flew back to us, her eyes wide with awe and - guilt stabbed at me with a pointy stick - a bit of fear. I'd seen the same kind of awed respect from a hardened mercenary; he'd remarked that he'd never seen a wizard completely go all out before I came, and I replied that he still hadn't. What I just did with the manticora: open-ended corridor, enemies in front, and a blazing inferno to burn them all - I'd pulled something like this before. It got rid of the bad guys, but I got a roasted hand in return.

"Remind me not to get you angry." Red Arrow muttered, leaning his back against the wall to slowly get to his feet. Troia floated over to help him while Nightwing...

"_That_ was stupid." Nightwing hissed, arms crossed as he scowled at me in between the twitching bodies of the manticora.

Smart as I was, the first thing that came to my mind was, "What?"

"Stupid and _irresponsible._ Do you even know what you're aiming for?"

"Hey, I wasn't going to hit Troia!" I protested, knowing that he wasn't referring to any of the cats in our way.

But Nightwing shook his head. "I wasn't talking about her. Do you have any idea what's at the end of this corridor?"

"Even if I did, you're going to tell me anyway, right?"

"Trained ninjas. Guards. Civilian staff. The League of Assassins employs thousands of people to keep itself in order, and you could have toasted any one of them with your inferno."

_Oh_. And just like that, I was back in the remains of Bianca's manse - where I'd incinerated dozens of Red Court vampires and eleven innocents. _Eleven. _I could argue that I was defending myself and three others but deep down, I knew I could have handled it differently. But what eats at me every time I'm reminded of what happened is the fact that in the heat of the moment, I went for my favorite spell: rage and fire.

A blazing fire in an enclosed space like a narrow corridor could go to hell in a handbasket in under a minute. If there were people at either end of the hallway, they would have burned. It was a rookie mistake I'd fallen back into doing again and again. I was an angry bull in a china shop and I guess Nightwing was just realizing how much angry this bull is.

Ra's looked unimpressed at my crisis of faith. He gingerly picked himself up from the mass of guards and sneered at Nightwing, "Ever the concerned hero in the face of your enemies. The detective's biggest flaw has rubbed off on you."

Nightwing growled in reply but kept his glare on me, "Stay out of this, Ra's."

"Stay out? Why should I? It is my compound you have trespassed on and my men you have fought."

I cut in with a protest, "Hey, you were the ones to shoot first."

Ra's drew himself up as though I'd just insulted him. "On the contrary, I was merely allowing my guards to defend against what can be perceived as a threatening move.

"No matter," the terrorist continued, stepping over his stunned men to stand near me. "I know what you are now, magus."

"Personally, I prefer _wizard_," I sniped. "_Magus _is too Dungeons and Dragons for the illiterate."

"Truly, I hadn't expected any magi to side with the _heroes_," he said the last with a sneer, completely ignoring my remarks as though he didn't hear it. "They are a secretive group and never concerned themselves with matters outside of their circle."

"First time for everything." I said with a shrug, even though my brain worked double-time at the implications of Ra's statement. If he was telling the truth - and I can't think of a reason why he'd lie about this - then the megalomaniac had just admitted that he'd met wizards..._White Council..._some-when in his long life. Nightwing had said Ra's was centuries old - could he have run across the first wizards? Maybe even the Merlin himself?

And what is Ra's getting at by telling us this?

"Get to the point, asshole," I growled, shoving those thoughts away to think about later. Whatever the maniac had to say about the past, I could do without the hour-long lecture. "We've still got kidnapped people to find."

The maniac's eyes narrowed. "Let me reiterate: I gave no order for civilians to be taken forcibly in the last two months. And I do not take kindly to your unfounded accusations."

"So if you didn't do it," Nightwing spoke up, finally shifting his gaze away from me, "then who did?"

I had the brief image of hitting a hard bubble flashing through my head, just before we were about to enter this compound - a bubble that almost felt like my magic-suppressing spell. And all at once, I knew.


	15. Dick 8

Notes: I has headache. Replies in next chap.

"Harry!" I called out when the wizard suddenly ran deeper into the compound. I didn't know what got Harry into rushing off. And before I knew it, I had taken a couple of steps to chase him - how many times had Bruce left me to run after the Joker or Two-Face or the other Gotham villains? - but the sight of Donna helping Roy to stand up had me remembering that it wasn't just Harry and me this time.

"I take it he went after my _trusted _assistant." Ra's said with a derisive snort. A quick glance around revealed that everyone in Ra's personal guard was accounted for...except for the one _we _had caught outside the compound. In the confusion of the fight, the aide must have fled without any of us noticing. That must be the assistant Ra's was referring to and the same one Harry was chasing after.

And then, to me and my friends' surprise, the eco-terrorist turned and started to leave as though that was the end of the matter.

"Where are you going?" I asked, not liking what he was implying by leaving so early. Time had it that Bruce, Tim, and I were forced to evacuate a crumbling building just because Ra's had decided he had something else to take care of. This time, I'm sure, would be no exception.

The eco-terrorist half-turned around to face me as he admitted, "I've had my suspicions about my staff. You did me a favor by rooting out Giaffar."

_Giaffar. _The name was familiar, and it took me a second to recall it: Giaffar was the name registered with Tigris Airfield where dozens of kidnapped practicioners had been forcibly held for weeks before being transported here. Giaffar must also be the one who'd had the practicioners taken. But why?

"I will let you leave without further interference, Nightwing," Ra's continued, "Consider it as repayment for your assist in revealing the traitor in my employ."

"Well, we certainly didn't do it for _you_." Roy sniped from behind me. He had one arm around Donna's shoulders and his other arm - bandaged but not completely cleaned of blood - was pressed tight against his wounded side.

"You okay?" I asked him without taking my eyes off Ra's or his men.

"I'll live. With some tender, sweet loving care from my favorite Amazon, of course."

"Oh, you." Donna gently punched him on his uninjured side.

"You have half an hour." Ra's suddenly declared, like he'd had all the sweet-talking he could bear hearing.

I frowned at him. "Before what?"

"Before I set this facility to self-destruct." The eco-terrorist was definitely smirking as he began to leave, his cape swishing behind him with a snap. "Did you really think I would allow a compound such as this to fall into League hands?"

I spent one milli-second to mentally curse at his back before I turned to Donna. "Get Red Arrow out of here." Then I braced myself for the incoming protests that weren't long in coming.

"What about you?"

"We're not leaving you here alone!"

I shook my head and cut them off before they could argue further. "We don't have time and I'm not alone. I'm going after Harry."

Donna's mouth worked before she gave a sigh and nodded. "Alright. But we're sending Batman and Superman after you."

"You do that," I stepped past them, the now slime-filled corridor - the dead manticoras had turned into ectoplasmic goo - before me. "Go." And I broke into a run.

The corridors ran long and seemingly haphazardly; it'd take me days to explore the whole place, let alone search for one wayward wizard. But I banked on the fact that Harry's quarry would be in too much of a hurry to leave behind closed doors, so I saved time by glancing into the few open rooms before moving on. With Harry's head start, it took me a while before I found him...or rather, _them_.

I'd somehow found where Ra's kept the Lazarus pit - or rather, Harry was _led _to it and I just followed in his steps. It was a huge cavern underground with a smoothed stone floor and tall pillars to the side for support. Harry was standing in the middle of a circle painted on the floor, the lazarus pit just a few steps away to his left. And all around him, a dozen or so manticora watched intensely.

I crept through the open doorway as silently as I could, not wanting to attract the attention of those cats. There were a few steps going down in between me and Harry, giving me a somewhat bird's eye view of the entire place. The cats were mostly motionless, still watching Harry. I took a couple more steps further into the room wherein at that point, I could hear another voice from deeper in the cavern.

"Your choice, wizard," the voice was saying in a voice almost as oily as Ra's, "Give what's left of your power to the pit or I will send more people to their deaths."

"And what's stopping you from doing that afterwards?" Harry challenged the speaker, his back to me. I could see for the most part he looked unharmed and I was grateful for small mercies.

The ceiling had been lowered in the main chamber and I had to bend a little to get a better view of the man Harry was talking to. It was the same guard we'd first caught, the one who came out into the desert alone. Just from what he said, I could assume this guy was the one who started all the kidnappings, but for what? And was he the one to hack into the Crays? The man's next words answered my first question, but not the second.

"The pit only needs the power of a wizard, freely given." Giaffar explained. "The rest of the practicioners I've fed to it are mere appetizers."

"What about the capes I came with?"

"They'll probably be let go; it rather depends on Ra's moods. But when you're gone, they'll no longer have a reason to stay, will they?"

I didn't like this. Giaffar was basically telling Harry to sacrifice himself for the rest of the people he'd kidnapped. And while the wizard stayed in that painted circle being watched by manticora, Harry wouldn't be able to get himself out of making the choice. From what I could figure out, the painted circle was magical, probably made by Giaffar before Harry came and was lured in - or maybe he was herded by all those manticora. Even without the circle to block his magic, the room was large enough and the cats scattered enough that the wizard would be taken down easily. And even I can't help him against a dozen cats.

It was a good thing we came with friends.

I heard the telltale flapping of a cape in the distance and smirked to myself, slipping a wingding to my hand. If I were to fight a lot of angry cats and one possible sorcerer, I'll be needing magic to back me up. So the first thing to do would be to free Harry from the magic-blocking circle; one well-aimed wingding should do it.

My aim was perfect: the wingding embedding itself onto the stone floor and effectively cutting the circle. Bruce knew his stuff when it came to engineering. Our batarangs and wingdings were made of an alloy tough enough it could scratch a diamond and were sharp enough it could slice a paper in mid air. Natural stone is nothing compared to some of the stuff we go through.

Then I stopped thinking in favor of _moving before the cats start clawing. _Fighting animals has always been a challenge over fighting humans: the survival instinct has taken over and there is very little stopping an animal from fighting, moving to inflict damage. While a human might reel backwards from a stun-blow, an animal crazed with the killing rage would only keep scratching and biting until it - or its attacker - died.

But I had one advantage: I was one and they were many. I was flipping over cats and baiting them into swiping at each other before Harry made his move.

"_Forzare!_" One cat was flung to crash against a group of its fellows, and I was now only facing half of them. But even that didn't take long as a brightly colored blur rushed in to tackle the remaining half.

"Need any help?" Clark asked cheerfully, his arm braced against a manticora's snarling jaws.

"Feel free to jump in!" I hollered and dove to roll underneath a leaping cat. I half-spun to strike at its flank but Harry beat me to it.

"_Fuego!_" Fire burst from his wand - a flaming cone much smaller than the one he'd made in the corridor - and engulfed the manticora nearest me. That took care of my one, but not his four. I flung a wingding to slice at one of the cats charging Harry while he swung his fist to punch another. That left two more facing the wizard but they were too close!

Then before I could blink, those two were plucked into the air by the scruff of their necks. Clark floated in mid-air, clutching one manticora in each fist as though they weighed nothing. "You two alright?"

"They're constructs!" I told him, "These cats won't die if you destroy their bodies!"

"Is that so?" Clark grinned widely and his eyes gave that telltale red glow. "Stay back."

I shoved Harry behind me as Superman let loose with his heat vision, effectively burning the cats where they stood. In just a couple of seconds, the half-dozen manticora were done for.

"Stars and stones," Harry said with awe, once all the cats had been taken care of, "how much do I have to pay for back-up like you?"

"Absolutely nothing," Superman answered, cheerfully tossing the cats he'd been holding to one side with barely any effort, "but there's a queue. The Justice League protects the rest of the world along with our chosen cities.

"So," Clark glanced around curiously, "found out who we're up against?"

"Yep, he's right over-" I turned to point towards...an empty corner "-there."

"Goddammit!" Harry cursed, "The coward's run off again!"


	16. Harry 8

Notes: Couple more chapters to go before I declare this complete. So far, this has been my longest fic yet.

DarthZ: I think I bit off more than I can chew with so many characters playing around so I pared them down again.

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><p>Hell's freaking bells I hate it when the villain runs off at the end of comic. I hate it even more when it happens to me. I was all set to pull any information about the kidnapped people from this guy and he leaves before I could start; and just when I had some serious backup behind me too.<p>

I was just about to run after the guy again when Nightwing clapped a hand on my shoulder. Hard. "Oh no, Harry, we don't have enough time to chase a rogue sorcerer." He turned to Superman without taking his hand off me. "Ra's gave us thirty minutes before this place blows. Now we've only got twenty minutes left to find the practitioners."

Superman nodded. "I left Batman at the main computers. He's been hacking into the system to look for them."

"Can you take us?"

"Sure. Just hang on."

I immediately backed up, already figuring out just how the cape was going to take us. "Stars no, no way-"

There was a brief tug, then the world rushed by in a blur, and I was suddenly in a humongous room the size of a stadium, filled with computer doohickeys that bleeped and whirred - and promptly had me moving to one corner as fast as possible. "Hell's bells! Do you want me to make the whole place go kablowie before the thirty minutes is up?"

"Giaffar hasn't encrypted his files," Batman was saying as though he hadn't heard me. He wasn't fooling me. I could see the slight lift at the corner of his mouth. Do these vigilantes have a death wish or something?

He was standing by one of the larger computers in the room, with a giant-sized monitor that dominated half an entire wall. It was showing a sketchy outline of a building that slowly rotated on the screen - it took me a while before I realized, "that's the building we're in, right?"

Batman barely reacted but Superman tossed me a questioning look.

"Technophobia, remember?" I grumbled at him in explanation. "I never see one of those three-dimensional whatsits outside of a page in a magazine." I turned and called out to Batman, "It's the same reason why our guy doesn't triple protect his files in the computer. He doesn't know how."

"Why would you say that?" Nightwing asked me from beside Batman.

"He's an oldtimer; probably as old as or younger by a few years than your Ra's guy." I shrugged, I couldn't care less which immortal jerk came first. They were both jerks to me. "My guy's weak for a wizard, but he's lived long enough to develop some power on his own and got this huge manticora pride to boot."

"And you know all this, how?" Superman asked.

"The asshole told me. Got it into his head to start gloating and told me his plans. I guess s_omeone _hasn't been reading the Evil Overlord list."

"And Ra's hasn't noticed Giaffar's files until now?"

"He's hidden it under a folder named 'Administrator.'" Batman answered without taking his eyes off the monitor. "Something inconspicuous but is always there."

"How do you know which folder to look for?" I asked him.

"I searched for the files his identification code recently accessed."

I whistled at how easy it was to track this guy. One of the nearer computers sparked and I stopped whistling. "Huh. Maybe I should change my motto from Wile E. Coyote to _Batman, suuuuper genius._"

"There are two places he Giaffar kept the practicioners in," Batman continued. I took it he had a habit of ignoring all unnecessary comments. "We'll split into two groups. Nightwing and Dresden will take the southeast laboratory. Superman and I will go to the northeast. Direct the practicioners to the south exit near your area."

"And what about the-"

"Got it," Nightwing said, pulling my arm and dragging me out before I could ask where the other two's exit was, "We'll meet you outside."

I kept my mouth shut until we were outside. By then, I was near to bursting with curiosity so I asked the question that was foremost in my head. "So we're just going to let the Evil Overlord wannabe go?" I demanded of my herder. Even though we weren't running full tilt, we were both eating up the distance to the dungeon. It may be called a laboratory but as long as it held people against their will and did cruel things to them, it was a dungeon to me. "He could still show up and start siccing manticoras at us."

"Not now, Harry," he kept his pace to a fast jog and I followed. I practice running in my spare time; helps when you're up against an angry demon and you've got no other options but to run away. He who stays and dies is an idiot and all that. "We've still got those practicioners to save."

"You can save them. Why do you need me-?"

"Because I don't want you to go all out again, you hear me!" Nightwing shot a glare at me through the white lenses of his mask. I didn't know whether it was a relief not knowing how intense his scowl was or creepier because all I could see was white instead of his baby blues. But his message was received loud and clear: I still wasn't off the hook with my reckless behavior.

But it was a splash of cold water on my building fury - I didn't even know I'd had so much rage to draw from until it vanished in the wake of Night-Dick's anger. And with that same realization came-

"Right. Got to save Alyanna." I muttered and sped up my pace.

The way to the dungeons probably takes at least a ten minute walk by my estimate. Coming at a dead-run, we cut that to four minutes; that gave us around fifteen minutes left to evacuate the compound - less if we had to jiggle each and every lock keeping the kidnapped people here.

"Hell's bells," I swore at the sight of a corridor of holding cells lined side by side for as far as my eye could see. "How are we going to get all these cells open in time?"

"Not me." Nightwing said, his attention on a mechanical panel built into one wall. His gloves traced the outline of the panel and tried to pry it off, but I could see the seams were too slim. "I'm not the one going to open all of them. _You are_."

"What? Stars, Nightwing-"

"The locks are wired to keep shut as long as electricity runs through the systems. I can't get to the wiring and we don't have enough time for me to figure out which ones to cut in sequence. Ra's made an electrician's puzzle when he had this section built." He turned to me, a smile beginning to form on his face. "I know you can break the circuitry in one second."

I shook my head, gathering the remnants of my earlier anger. "Three seconds. Not one. One's too god-like." My rage came back quickly, but some of it had already dissipated when I let it go. Anger is a selfish emotion; the more you have it, the more you want to keep it up as though it gives you the right to flatten every irritable thing in your way. But anger is also high-maintenance; it consumes a lot more energy and a lot more muscles to frown than a smile.

My rage grew, peaked. I brought up my staff and pointed it towards the panel on the wall. Then I called in as loud a voice as I could, "Everyone! Stay back from the doors!"

I gave them two seconds to scramble away and unleashed my rage with a shout, "_Hexus!_"

The wave of energy swept out of me and flew to the wall. Wizards of my caliber could blow any electronics at ten paces, faster if we were closer. It was a normal side-effect of having the power to manipulate the energies of the world, of life. But when a wizard _consciously _brings out that inherent side-effect and pours power into the spell, well, bye-bye technology.

The panel as well as all the cell doors exploded into sparks. I brought up my duster to cover both myself and Nightwing. When the sparks cleared, I lowered my duster to find the cell-lined corridor no longer empty.

Wary, scruffy-looking men, women and kids in disheveled clothes carefully shuffled out the cell doors, their eyes darting left and right as though they couldn't believe they were free. I held my anger in check as one by one, their eyes turned to me.

Nightwing darted out from behind me and stood by the open corridor. "Alright people, we need to evacuate this place _now. _Is anyone else in those cells?"

Those wary eyes switched from me to Nightwing and immediately brightened. I had to admit, I was jealous that they regarded superheroes with more respect than a wizard - but that jealousy quickly faded in the face of how the White Council regarded these people in front of me. Respect is a two-way street.

"No," one of the women spoke up. "This is...all of us."

"Good. Then let's move, people."

I watched, envious, as these weary people followed Nightwing without complaint and without a second glance at me. They were probably too weak and tired from mistreatment to spare any energy on me, but I still think they'd follow a cape over following someone like me. And as it happens, I was left bringing up the rear in a mass exodus of one cape and dozens of civilians.

Speaking of which...

I searched each kid in the group ahead of me, but none of them looked anything remotely like the picture the Chais gave me of Alyanna. But everyone had their backs to me and I might have overlooked one or two kids, not to mention Superman and Batman had another group of victims coming. I had to hope that somehow in between this group and the other one, Alyanna's face would be showing up.

It turns out I was wrong.


	17. Dick 9

I led the way to the exit, glancing behind me now and again to make sure we weren't leaving anyone behind. Harry was at the back of the procession; and I'm pretty sure if someone was lagging, Harry would give a helping hand. I still believed the wizard is a good guy - but his anger sometimes gets the better of him.

He reminded me of Raven; he needed to be in control of his emotions or something - most likely bad - will leak out. Harry had told me once that magic came from the energies of the world and of life itself. And what he does is simply manipulate that energy into something he needs. The logic fits Zatanna's philosophy too; she'd said that her incantations and spells are just words, that the magic must come from a certain source whether it is from an artifact or herself.

But the horror of Harry releasing that blast of fire down the corridor still had my heart pumping. The heat was intense even through my uniform, and all I could think of were those poor people at the end of the corridor who would be caught up in the conflagration. At that moment, I realized exactly how dangerous Harry is when he's out of control. Bruce had warned me about him months ago; but it was one thing to heed the warning in your head and another to see it for real. I had to keep reminding myself in that moment that Harry is a good guy and that he hadn't gone rogue.

We rounded the last corner and headed straight down the hallway that would lead to the exit. Bruce and I had quickly memorized the layout of the compound from the few minutes spent studying the blueprints on the computer. He and I had both concluded that this was the nearest and safest exit - even the victims in the north would have to pass through here, hence the need for Superman's strength and speed. It was why Bruce had us split up into two groups with me better able to deal with an angry wizard.

But when I reached the end of the hallway, I was confronted with something I wasn't expecting: the exit door was locked.

"Harry?" I called over my shoulder, studying the door for any locks I could pick, any openings I could attempt to pry, any hinges I could stuff explosives onto.

"Let me," the wizard's tired voice was a welcome distraction. I stood back, ushering the kidnap victims behind me and let Harry step close to the door. He drew back his fist and I had a glimpse of his silver rings sparkling in the artificial lighting then he let go with a right hook.

The door flew off its hinges to land a few feet away from the opening.

"Not a bad exit," I told Harry with a grin.

"I don't always set buildings on fire before leaving." He grumbled back.

Speaking of which, "We still need to talk about that later," I promised him as I urged the kidnap victims to leave the compound before the whole place falls apart on us. Harry shot me a look as we stood at either side of the exit, watching the evacuation. I half-expected him to give an apology but he quickly turned back to look through the faces of the victims - I could tell he was looking for the little girl he'd been hired to bring back, his dark eyes kept flitting from face to face and only perked up when a little girl passed through.

"Can't we just say I made a wrong decision and move on?" Harry finally complained without looking at me. He was clearly uncomfortable about the subject, and any other day I might let him have his space. But not for this, not for what he could've done. Bruce knew that Harry was dangerous, and therefore didn't _truly_ trust him. It was why he kept sticking me with the wizard; he figured that Harry liked me enough the wizard wouldn't dare toss a fireball in my face. But now we were all realizing that just because he wouldn't dare do certain spells if I was close, that didn't mean he wouldn't do those same spells if I had some distance between us.

Some safety I turned out to be.

I sighed and tried for a conciliatory approach. "Look, Harry-"

"Alyanna's not here." He cut in.

"What?"

"Alyanna Chai. The girl I'm supposed to find." He said with a growl. He was gripping his staff so tightly his knuckles went white. "She's not here."

One of the women - the first one who spoke up from the cells - came forward. "The guards took a girl this morning. She was the last one they came for before you arrived."

Harry directed his intense gaze to her without meeting her eyes - I still marveled at how intimidating the wizard could seem even if he was looking at the middle of your forehead. "Do you know where they took her?"

The woman nodded solemnly. "Restricted lab to the right of the cells. It's the only lab room in that hall, can't miss it."

"Thanks." Harry grunted and started to run back into the compound.

"Hey, wait!" I cried and ran after him. "I'll take you there."

The wizard paused to give me a skeptical look.

"I memorized the blueprints Batman showed us awhile ago."

Both Harry's eyebrows went up but he wordlessly followed me as I led the way back to the cells...and the restricted lab.

Behind us, the woman called out in warning, "Remember, they took her this morning!"

I puzzled over that even as I took the necessary turns leading to the lab, the wizard panting along behind me. The woman had already mentioned that the guards had taken Alyanna once, why did she have to repeat it? What was wrong with this morning that she felt she had to warn us?

In fact, it was only this morning we - Bruce, Clark, Roy, Donna, and I - were discussing how to find Ra's while waiting for Harry to arrive. Was it only this morning? It felt like two days had passed with the travel here, the fights...

It was then that I realized what the woman was trying to say and I put on a burst of speed in the hopes that she was wrong.

We reached the corridor with the laboratory and the sight of the blasted open doors sent my heart pounding. Blackened smudges on the opposite wall showed that something had exploded outwards from the lab, and I had a feeling Harry might know what it was because he slipped past me to run right into the lab.

When I finally rounded the doors, the first thing I saw was a disaster: computers sparking, carts overturned, and various tools lay everywhere. But the whole place was empty; no blood, no bodies. I took a step into the room and my eyes were immediately drawn to the lump by two large circle drawings on the floor, one circle inside another.

I ran over to Harry, already feeling my hopes dashed.

She was cradled in the wizard's arms, looking peaceful as though she'd just fallen asleep. Her eyes were shut, her lashes long against her pale cheeks, and her face was unmarked by the recent stress she'd suffered. But there was no waking up from this sleep.

Harry brushed a hand through her brown hair. A large machine sparked overhead but we both ignored it.

I had to swallow the building lump in my throat as I spoke softly, "I'm sorry, Harry."

The wizard nodded quietly, his hand still stroking Alyanna's hair. "Death curse." He said with a voice empty of emotion.

"What?"

"She wasn't supposed to become a full-fledged wizard. She was the daughter of a minor practicioner, from a line of minor practicioners. No one in her family would ever have enough juice to become a White Council member."

I stepped closer to Harry, still confused by what he was saying. "What do you mean?"

He turned to me, his dark eyes blank and weary. "You know why it's not generally a good idea to kill a wizard?"

"Aside from the magic you could wield?"

Harry shook his head. "We call it a Death Curse. The final life energy of a wizard all bottled up into a powerful curse. Alyanna should never have been a wizard, but the recent stress must have forced her to develop her magic. She had become powerful enough to level a death curse at our guy."

My eyes widened and I glanced around the room again with interest. The broken computers were sparking as though they'd been hexed; the overturned carts and tools lay in a pattern as though a strong wind blew past them and went through the doors. The large circles drawn on the floor were mostly pristine except for a smudge on the outside circle, likely left by a foot scrambling backwards. The jar the circles contained had a large crack in its middle as if it had tried to contain something but was too weak for it.

And all around the room, there was the hush of something broken and unfinished. Alyanna had become powerful enough to produce a death curse. She had developed enough to be a wizard. And Giaffar already had his wizard even before we arrived, if only he had realized it in time.

We stood there in silence, ignored by the chaos in the room while Harry held the body of the little girl we'd tried to save.

Tried...and failed.

Something exploded somewhere in the distance and in the back of my mind, I knew that we had to get out of there quick, but I couldn't move. I could only stare at Harry, at the girl who had barely lived before her life was snuffed by a greedy sorcerer, at the overwhelming feeling of wasted potential surrounding the room.

"Dick," the soft voice soothed the loss and gently coaxed me back into the present. I found myself staring at Donna as she held her hands out to me. "Come on, Dick, let's get out of here."

Her voice was gentle in the face of our failure and I absently lifted my hands to take hers. At the corner of my eye, Superman crouched beside Harry and tenderly took hold of both wizard and girl. Then we were all flying out of the hole in the ceiling, just in time to watch the former League of Assassins headquarters crumble into ruin.


	18. Harry 9

Notes: Well, this is the real ending. Just a short epilogue of sorts heh. Sequel to this crossover verse will be when I've gotten my Dresden-enthusiasm back. The wait for Cold Days kinda dries up the creative well ^^ Thanks to all who've read this fic up to this final chapter! :)

GiovanniBlasini: Well, I was playing around with what happens to Alyanna while writing this fic and finally decided to stick with the Death Curse idea. I tried making a happy ending, but the bunny wouldn't stand for it :/

Soului: Those...are the bestest compliments I've gotten all day. Thanks! And I'm really glad to know that my writing is improving with each new story. I keep changing methods and styles so often I frequently lose track of what I was planning to write in the first place lol. Much thanks!

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><p>I spent the trip to Titans Tower in a haze.<p>

We had taken a side trip to the Chais so I could tell them what happened to Alyanna. They...didn't take the news well.

"I thought you were this powerful wizard." Mr. Chai growled at me, arms around his sobbing wife. "But you're just another White Council lackey." Angry brown eyes glared at me and wouldn't hear any of my excuses - not that I could come up with one. "Leave now."

I left.

The Titans made sure I was taken care of: wrapping me in blankets, giving me food. But mostly they left me alone. I think they'd all agreed to give me space to mourn.

I was sitting on the grass outside the Tower when Nightwing joined me. He made sure his footsteps made enough noise for me to know he was coming; and when he reached me, he wordlessly plopped himself beside my brooding form. I didn't bother greeting him - there was no point to it. I knew he came to tell me I did the right thing; that Alyanna's death wasn't my fault.

But I knew it was.

I was too slow, and a little girl lost her life. I failed.

"I dream of them, sometimes," Nightwing's voice broke the silence.

I waited for him to continue, not really wanting to make conversation. I was brooding and I had a right to do it too! But a moment of silence passed and I couldn't help it. I was curious. "Who?"

"The people caught in the crossfire. Men, women, _kids._ The ones I couldn't save."

"Oh." I bowed my head, remembering my own share of deaths: Kim, Carmichael, _Shiro_.

"I tried to remember their names. It was easy enough to find them with the World's Greatest Detective at your back." Nightwing sighed, lifting the white lenses of his mask to leave me with Dick Grayson. "But...the names... I've been doing this for years and the numbers just kept rising. I'd go insane trying to remember them all."

I grunted. "Wish I could do the same. Being a wizard with near eidetic memory's a curse."

"Bruce taught me something years ago." Dick looked up, his tone reflective. "I can't save everyone. So I help the ones I _can _save and..." he sighed wistfully, "and hope that they'll be enough."

I snorted. "Spoken like a true vigilante."

Dick flashed me a grin. "A hero, Harry. Not just a vigilante."

"I'm not a hero."

"Hey, if the costume fits..."

"It's not a costume!" I retorted. "It's a tactical jacket the SWAT guys wear."

"...Or Kevlar-spandex suits." He continued as though he didn't hear me.

And this time, I had no retort for that.

We spent a few moments in silence until Nightwing broke it.

"So, Giaffar's still out there." He announced.

I shrugged and told him, "I'm not worried about him."

"Why not?"

"Alyanna's Death Curse," I explained. "A Death Curse isn't strong enough to kill someone, but it can make things difficult for the victim. When Giaffar got me into that circle, I'd wondered why he ran instead of slinging spells." I had to grin at a little girl's bravery in cursing the sorcerer that had kidnapped her. "Alyanna must have cursed him so he couldn't cast spells."

Nightwing stared at me with wide eyes. "Can a Death Curse do that?"

I nodded. "Sure. My mother once cursed a vampire and made him unable to refill his power. Wonder who taught Alyanna to do that?"


End file.
